Apple's Karnataka Production Plan Will Boost Jobs, Says Deshpande

Karnataka government Tuesday offered full support to US tech giant Apple in setting up of a manufacturing unit in the state saying that this will boost investment and create jobs.

Karnataka industry minister R V Deshpande expressed concern over job situation and said the state government is trying to attract investment for this purpose.

Responding to a query on Apple's proposed plan to set up a production unit in the state, Deshpande said: "There are some issues with Government of India and that has not been resolved. We have assured them of full support and cooperation. We are working with them".

The iPhone and iPad manufacturer Apple has sought certain concessions for setting up manufacturing unit in the country.

"If one company gets benefit, what about others," Deshpande said on the sidelines of a roadshow to promote investment in small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector in New Delhi.

Stating that Apple's investment has to come, the minister said because this will help create large employment.

"We should encourage investment to create large employment as we have great human resources and we are talking about 'Make in India'," he told PTI.

Apple is eyeing India as it is the fastest growing smartphone market in the world. The company is looking to set up a local manufacturing unit in India to cut costs.

However, it does not manufacture devices on its own but gets the job done through contract manufacturers and sells its products through company-owned retail stores in countries like China, Germany, the US, the UK and France, among others.

There are no wholly-owned stores in India and products are sold through distributors such as Redington and Ingram Micro.