India Commerce and Industry Minister: we support Apple’s manufacturing plan

India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said the company supports Apple’s plan to set up a manufacturing unit in the country and is awaiting a formal proposal from the tech giant, according to The Economic Times.

“Let us get a good proposal from them…We will be very happy to receive Apple, one of the top brands in the world. We are willing to find out if there is any difficulty they may face. We will be more than happy to resolve that difficulty. So we will await a formal proposal,” he said in an interview. 

Apple has sought incentives from the Indian government before setting up a manufacturing unit in the country. Last year India’s government said it might loosen existing policies that require local sourcing for companies that want to open stores if Apple announces a timeframe for some domestic manufacturing. In July 2016, it was announced that Apple had agreed to lease more than 40,000 square feet of office space in Bengaluru, where the company plans to set up a development center. 

And in May 2016, the company announced a new initiative to support engineering talent and accelerate growth in India’s iOS developer community. The company said it would establish an iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in the city.