Apple Not Able to Open Retail Stores in India Without Selling 30% Locally Sourced Goods

[imaChaser2001]

Cutting edge in their people's and India's humanity interest. Not just some phones and other plastics. Otherwise we would soon start talking about things like cutting edge in cheese manufacturing.

Also, we are living that age that our fathers reffered to as the age when doing a normal act would mean doing an extraordinary act or telling the truth would mean an act of courage.

India is not China.

 

[kdarling]

I'd like to see a list of companies who did get this exception

I don't think any smartphone companies have gotten the "high technology" waiver. (They were kind of hoping Apple's would go through, I think.)

Xiaomi has Indian factories, so they're covered. Samsung and Oppo are planning to do the same.

Lenovo/Motorola apparently have a good distribution/support system already in place, and are not planning on bringing in a factory.

As for buying influence, Apple has been wining & dining officials, now has Indian lobbyists, and of course has been bending over backwards to bring in thousands of jobs like those for the Maps division.

The iPhone SE costs USD 585 in India. The point here is the import duties make the phone expensive. If phone is locally assembled then the import duties go away bringing down cost automatically. So it's actually a win win for Apple and INDIAN customers to make in India.

This. Completed smartphones have an import tariff of about 12%. Parts imported to make them, only 1%. Plus there are other government incentives to build locally.

Ironically, most of the native Indian smartphone makers also use factories in China, but are now planning on moving production into India.

 

[kdarling]

For sure it will cost that much if everything is manufactured in US.

Just stop. You're embarrassing yourself. Even in the worst case, it would not cost anywhere near your claimed $4,000 to sell an iPhone made in the USA.

As I pointed out, it cost Moto less than $5 extra to assemble their phone in Texas. As I also noted, the only reason they closed that factory was because they simply did not sell enough phones in the US to make it worthwhile.

They already sourced many parts from the US, and were planning to bring the chassis and cases that way as well. The eventual plan was to try to source every part here.

$5 more is the cost of fitting the front/back panels of the phone as per the customization of the user.

No sir. That was the cost of both the customization AND assembling the rest of the phone.

This was a Flextronics plant that used to make Nokia phones.

It was updated and broken into two sections: the first section assembled the base phone from individual subsections (chassis, antennas, battery, flex cables, speakers, etc)... exactly the same as is done in a Foxconn iPhone factory, while the second section added the customization (if any, as there were also standard models).

 

[theelysium]

BS, India is full of themselves! Please, not cutting edge.. compared to what, their country? The country where people **** and piss in their drinking water and then bath their cows in it? You mean that cutting edge country? You mean a country so cutting edge their number job is call center work stollen from the US by greedy cooperation & ****** law makers? Wow, India is such a cutting edge country who needs to demand so much from the top electronics company. In no way does forcing Apple to sell 30% of their stuff made in their crappy country make a difference. India is just being pig headed with horns!

 

[KPandian1]

As I pointed out, it cost Moto less than $5 extra to assemble their phone in Texas.

They already sourced many parts from the US, and were planning to bring the chassis and cases that way as well. The eventual plan was to try to source every part here.

the first section assembled the base phone from individual subsections (chassis, antennas, battery, flex cables, speakers, etc)... exactly the same as is done in a Foxconn iPhone factory, while the second section added the customization (if any, as there were also standard models).

You want to believe the $5 hype, go ahead! That does not get one worker into the factory floor in the USA for 15 minutes! In Chine, that is almost a week!

If they were successful at the $5 mark, they would've offered that service to any other company for manufacturing anything that expensive, for the "Made in USA" label! Even textile products!

The autocratic govt. in China provides Samsung, Apple, Volvo, Foxconn, etc., workers with skilled hands that will be only possible in poorer more dictatorial countries! Not the USA.

India has child labor that rivals any other country that exploits children - but they make matches, fireworks and carpets! Only China matches India in the absolute number of people living in poverty - and so, will work for pittance.

The education system in India, China, Taiwan, N&S Korea, Japan, etc., is in the metric system - that is why the intelligence support, a.k.a., tech support for most companies come from the Asian countries! No matter where they poop and pee!

Do not equate poverty with national stupidity, or wealth with national intelligence. Even the valedictorians in the USA schools can't convert a kilometer to a mile or a pound to a kilogram - hence the STEM poverty!

 

[kdarling]

You want to believe the $5 hype, go ahead! That does not get one worker into the factory floor in the USA for 15 minutes! In Chine, that is almost a week!

Not in China any more.

However, I've found more reliable info about the cost increase for assembling the Moto X in the US. The $5 increase claim came from analysts. The Flextronics CEO himself said the extra cost was $8-10, with some of that being offset by not having to pay extra to ship completed units to the USA. So maybe $6-8 net instead.

Still, of course, nowhere near the ridiculously huge amounts that some people claim would it would require.

If they were successful at the $5 mark, they would've offered that service to any other company for manufacturing anything that expensive, for the "Made in USA" label! Even textile products!

Even Apple uses Flextronics plants in Texas for the Mac Pro.

I do doubt that price addition would work with textiles.

The autocratic govt. in China provides Samsung, Apple, Volvo, Foxconn, etc., workers with skilled hands that will be only possible in poorer more dictatorial countries! Not the USA.

Oh pooh. They're no more skilled than anywhere else. In fact, their less experience with having lots of technology might make them worse than American workers.... the same way that American soldiers outclassed Soviet solders when it came to jerry-rigging combat vehicles. Most Soviets had never had their own car back then, whereas even the poorest American had one.

India has child labor that rivals any other country that exploits children - but they make matches, fireworks and carpets! Only China matches India in the absolute number of people living in poverty - and so, will work for pittance.

I agree that factory wages in India could be a new low.

Do not equate poverty with national stupidity, or wealth with national intelligence. Even the valedictorians in the USA schools can't convert a kilometer to a mile or a pound to a kilogram - hence the STEM poverty!

Do not equate the metric system to intelligence.

Without it, America built the first skyscrapers, best airplanes, tiny computers, and spaceships to the moon & planets & beyond. In fact, I'd bet there's likely been more math mistakes made using the metric system, where output scale mismatches by an order of magnitude won't be as obvious.

 

[konqueror4u]

BS, India is full of themselves! Please, not cutting edge.. compared to what, their country? The country where people **** and piss in their drinking water and then bath their cows in it? You mean that cutting edge country? You mean a country so cutting edge their number job is call center work stollen from the US by greedy cooperation & ****** law makers? Wow, India is such a cutting edge country who needs to demand so much from the top electronics company. In no way does forcing Apple to sell 30% of their stuff made in their crappy country make a difference. India is just being pig headed with horns!

you cannot understand the law of land. Learn to respect countries and their laws.

 

[KPandian1]

They're no more skilled than anywhere else. In fact, their less experience with having lots of technology might make them worse than American workers.... the same way that American soldiers outclassed Soviet solders when it came to jerry-rigging combat vehicles.

I said the dictators in China provide the skilled hands to the companies - not that they are superior to any country, percentage wise! In fact, they might be less so, in China and India vs USA, though that will be disputed by the fellow MacRumor mongers! I have no problems with either equation.

These countries, by way of poverty and dictatorship, give the likes of Apple, Qualcomm, etc., workers by force!

All the world's scientific communities, even the ones in USA, use ONLY the metric system - check that out with your doctor next time. One time the major mess happened, the Hubble telescope used metric numbers without converting, or reverse; it was a major embarrassment for the USA's scientific community. It would not focus. They corrected it after the 'scope was in space and, voila, it worked as specified! The non-scientific citizens of USA had little clue about this.

There are no superior class of people in any part of the world - just who are willing to work as slaves. Who do you think built the pyramids, the Brooklyn bridge or the Taj Mahal? The foremen/designers/architects equivalents of those times, or the slaves the rulers/kings used - or both?

The metric system is already the official USA system for about a century - the Anglophiles of the USA are the ones clinging to the English pound and gallon!

 

[niun]

BS, India is full of themselves! Please, not cutting edge.. compared to what, their country? The country where people **** and piss in their drinking water and then bath their cows in it? You mean that cutting edge country? You mean a country so cutting edge their number job is call center work stollen from the US by greedy cooperation & ****** law makers? Wow, India is such a cutting edge country who needs to demand so much from the top electronics company. In no way does forcing Apple to sell 30% of their stuff made in their crappy country make a difference. India is just being pig headed with horns!

I know right.
Like in this one movie I watched they had kids working in a mine and some crazy heart removing sacrifice! Messed up backward country!

Seriously though. why the anger? I don't get it.

 

[vvswarup]

I like the way Indian government has made decisions against Apple and Facebook. In US, the government decisions are made by lobbyists. Nobody forced US to open up their trade. Every country has a right and responsibilities to make sure that their citizens are getting employer and earning money! Excellent job India!
[doublepost=1464275054][/doublepost]
US has equal amount of corruption too.

If you think the US is as corrupt as India, you have no idea what you're talking about. India is far worse than the US. There is just no comparison. India's government is rotten to its very core.

In the name of protecting domestic jobs, India created a bloated, corrupt government bureaucracy that enriched a select few at the expense of everyone else. That system continues to choke the life out of the populace and the economy. We Americans think our government is for sale to the highest bidder. We like to say that our vote doesn't really matter because the special interest groups connected to the rich and powerful own our government anyway. Take one look at India and you will find a new meaning for those claims. Take one look at India, and you will find that our government is actually pretty dang good.

In the name of protectionism, India created a bloated, corrupt, inefficient government system that starved the populace to enrich a select few. Incompetent government officers practically sold licenses to the highest bidder, creating private monopolies. Protectionism did nothing but set India back by decades.

I can understand where the Indian government is coming from, though. Retail is one of the largest sectors of the economy. It ranks right up there with agriculture. Walk on the streets in India and you will find dozens upon dozens of small shops. Millions of poor Indians rely on retail as a source of income, running their tiny shops out of wooden sheds on the streets. In some of the poorer states, even grocery supermarkets run by locals are a contentious issue. Politicians frequently incite their constituents to engage in acts of vandalism. It's just a non-starter to let foreign retailers come in willy nilly and start setting up shop. That kind of a move brings back painful memories of India's colonial past. It smacks of foreigners trying to waltz in bleed India dry of all the good stuff, and the government is terrified of what would happen if the people got the impression that their own government was about to let some foreign company kill of domestic industry. The Indian government has to seem like it is making foreigners pay some kind of a price if they want access to India's market.

 

[augustya]

True, but those air miles...

What Air Miles ? Mr. Cook apparently flew in his Private Jet to China and India.

 

[s2mikey]

This is actually good to hear. I would love rules like this for the USA. This country needs solid mfg jobs and companies like Apple should be required to make at least some of the products here. Nothing wrong Indias decision on this.

 

[vvswarup]

This is actually good to hear. I would love rules like this for the USA. This country needs solid mfg jobs and companies like Apple should be required to make at least some of the products here. Nothing wrong Indias decision on this.

Apple doesn't manufacture anything in the first place. When Tim Cook was appointed COO by Steve Jobs, one of the first things he did was to get Apple out of manufacturing altogether because he didn't want Apple keeping inventory around for too long. He didn't want Apple to deal with the massive capital costs too. Instead, he started the practice of having Apple pay other companies to mass-produce Apple products.

Apple designs the components. Sometimes, the components are off-the-shelf and sometimes, they're custom made. In any case, Apple buys components from the best supplier available. Apple's suppliers are based all over the world, including the US.

I agree that the US needs solid mfg jobs but I don't see how Apple is part of the problem. I don't see why Apple gets roped into debates about manufacturing when it doesn't even manufacture anything in the first place. Apple didn't close its factories in the USA and move them to China. Apple simply shut down its factories and got out of manufacturing altogether. Apple gets a lot of attention about Foxconn but the reality is that Foxconn is completely independent. It serves dozens of other tech companies. Furthermore, when it comes to the total value of the iPhone, Foxconn isn't that big of a percentage. It assembles all of the components that Apple buys from other suppliers. I fail to understand your comment of "Apple should be required to make at least some of the products here" when it doesn't even make any of its products in the first place.

 

[GSPice]

Things have changed alot in 4 years dude. please update.

lol

 

[wdfly]

WTB laws like that here in the US. Also require that at least 50% of your products are manufactured here as well! As much as I hate to say this trump is the only one that's left that would push for something like this.

 

[KPandian1]

Do not equate the metric system to intelligence.

In fact, I'd bet there's likely been more math mistakes made using the metric system, where output scale mismatches by an order of magnitude won't be as obvious.

I did not say that the Metric system equates intelligence; it is easier, and therefore will not scare kids away from STEM at the early ages of 7-14, as happens here even with very smart kids!

"I'd bet there's likely been more math mistakes made using the metric system ..."

Wow, what a dumb statement about a system you do not use, that is simpler and the world's standard, esp., in the scientific community, the only system! Would a child divide by 32, 64 or 128 or shift the decimal point 4, 5 or 6 places in 4th grade?

 

[Solomani]

Apple will have to meet the mark if they want to play.

"Ma'am, would you like you buy some chicken tikka masala with your iPhone?"

 

[macintoshmac]

but the ministry of finance has decided Apple's products do not fall into the cutting-edge technology category

if that isn't a slap in the face, I don't know what is

Apple wants to sell phones in India via their retail channel. Nothing cutting edge there. However, if they set up a factory to produce the phones (that requires cutting edge technology) then that is a different matter. Selling phones via your own stores is not cutting edge. Making those phones is.
[doublepost=1464505093][/doublepost]

Make some high tech Watch bands there and that should cover it. :-o

While you may be apparently jesting, it betrays the underlying outlook and attitude you have towards Indians.

 

[s2mikey]

Apple doesn't manufacture anything in the first place. When Tim Cook was appointed COO by Steve Jobs, one of the first things he did was to get Apple out of manufacturing altogether because he didn't want Apple keeping inventory around for too long. He didn't want Apple to deal with the massive capital costs too. Instead, he started the practice of having Apple pay other companies to mass-produce Apple products.

Apple designs the components. Sometimes, the components are off-the-shelf and sometimes, they're custom made. In any case, Apple buys components from the best supplier available. Apple's suppliers are based all over the world, including the US.

I agree that the US needs solid mfg jobs but I don't see how Apple is part of the problem. I don't see why Apple gets roped into debates about manufacturing when it doesn't even manufacture anything in the first place. Apple didn't close its factories in the USA and move them to China. Apple simply shut down its factories and got out of manufacturing altogether. Apple gets a lot of attention about Foxconn but the reality is that Foxconn is completely independent. It serves dozens of other tech companies. Furthermore, when it comes to the total value of the iPhone, Foxconn isn't that big of a percentage. It assembles all of the components that Apple buys from other suppliers. I fail to understand your comment of "Apple should be required to make at least some of the products here" when it doesn't even make any of its products in the first place.

Well, they don't make them because they send it all off to some other country. They could make the products right here but choose not too because grumpy shareholders wouldn't like it. Apple controls the purse strings here. It's not just Apple that's the problem but they are a classic example because the insane profits they make are viewed as proof that perhaps they could make stuff here and still do just fine. Spread the wealth a bit. Uh oh, that sounds socialist doesn't it?

 

[vvswarup]

Well, they don't make them because they send it all off to some other country. They could make the products right here but choose not too because grumpy shareholders wouldn't like it. Apple controls the purse strings here. It's not just Apple that's the problem but they are a classic example because the insane profits they make are viewed as proof that perhaps they could make stuff here and still do just fine. Spread the wealth a bit. Uh oh, that sounds socialist doesn't it?

Your post doesn't have a grain of substance in it. It's filled with hot air. Apple doesn't make them because they send it all of to some other COMPANY, not country. That company could theoretically be anywhere in the world. Some of those companies are in the US, actually. Sure, Apple controls the purse strings but its suppliers control where products are made.

Since you have chosen to ignore what I say, let me say it again for you. If Apple "made" anything anywhere in the world, even in China, Apple wouldn't do anywhere near as well as it is doing. That's the nature of manufacturing. It's capital-intensive wherever you do it, whether it's here or in China. Also, keeping inventory around for too long costs money. Apple has therefore chosen to not make stuff but instead, design things and pay other companies to mass produce those designs.

In light of this, explain to me how Apple is classic example. Explain to me why Apple should "make stuff here" when it doesn't even make anything anywhere in the world in the first place.

 

[kdarling]

If Apple "made" anything anywhere in the world, even in China, Apple wouldn't do anywhere near as well as it is doing. That's the nature of manufacturing. It's capital-intensive wherever you do it, whether it's here or in China.

While Apple might not build all their devices themselves, Apple does spend billions each year on capital equipment, much of which analysts believe is for expensive tooling to help companies like Foxconn and other Apple suppliers meet Apple's high output last minute demands.

What's unknown is if Apple leases the equipment to those suppliers, or simply provides it as part of their overall manufacturing deal.

 

[Z400Racer37]

Thanks for the clarification.
I recognise your system of government, I live quite happily under a similar system. Your objective truth that government is there to defend the rights of individuals is also nice. However very few of Earth's 206 countries have a Bill of Rights as you do in the US, therefore it is likely and correct that different countries have developed disimilar 'rights', ones that suit their moral, social and spiritual outlooks.

In 1947 India became independent, independent from the UK, that is, as we had a habit of stealing countries back in the day. As a result India's parliament is very similar in set up to ours, their democracy is very similar to ours and their laws up until 1947 were very similar to ours. Since that time the representatives of the people (MPs) have shaped their legal frameworks for the good of the country and the Indian people. If this includes protectionist measures to safeguard lifestyles then great, this does not imply that the people are being oppressed.

My argument is not whether government should protect individual rights but that they have a choice how to fulfil their duty and that it doesn't have to happen in the American way. For example, France, a perfectly brilliant country, has a completely different system of judiciary to you and I. Americans largely use English 'Common Law' and have seen to adapt it to their moral, social and spiritual outlooks. The French however use a system of codes, there is no jury of your peers, witnesses can't be addressed by legal representatives and there is no system of legal precedent. The French like this, justice gets enacted, it is different, not better, not worse, just different.

First of all, India is a socialist hellhole, so clearly they have not implemented policies which were good for them or their people. But that's not even the point. As I have already explained, no-one can claim to have a RIGHT to initiate the OPPOSITE or the foundation of rights. That is, no-one can claim to have a right to initiate force against anyone else, for any reason, ever. Preventing a peaceful company like Apple, or the landowners and developers, or the potential customers from operating against their reason is a direct violation of their rights, and it is being done by INITIATING FORCE against them. The stores would have been there a long time ago if they weren't being prevented from building them by some form of force wielding entity. I don't give a damn if the people think it's in their interest to violate Apple's rights, or the rights of the landowners, or the rights of Apple's potential customers etc. They. Do. Not. Have. The. RIGHT. To. Do. It.

Legitimate governments do not have a choice in their function. They function is dictated by the terms of reality. It is not legitimate to assert that they must do their "duty" if that duty includes violating ANYONE's rights. Period. There is no room for compromise there.

As for France,,,, France, and many other european countries like it, are a perfect example of the dereliction of the proper function of government. These countries are riddled with areas which are subject to sharia law, and are egregious existences. Sure, the government in those specific areas has been adapted to fit the culture of savages. Is that good? I don't think so either. In fact, organizations like that aren't strictly speaking governments, they are just a mobs which are held together by institutionalized gang rule. They exercise disgusting initiations of force in these areas, but the principle between them, and India, and many other countries remains the same; they INITIATE FORCE against peaceful people to accomplish their agenda by force.

It is evil. It is always evil. In ANY magnitude.

NO individual, OR government has the right to initiate force. That is the only point that matters. India, along with many others are doing it. It is wrong. Period.

So you mean to say if under present laws, Apple opening am Apple Store is illegal, and they go ahead and do it anyways, the government should not use force to stop them from doing it? Sure, they will be served legal notices first. If they don't comply, then force will be used as in case of any other illegal activity. Thats how law enforcement works.

By what standard do you evaluate the legitimacy of a law? How about if a law said to kill all the Jews? would you be in favor of it if it was reached democratically? No? How about just to imprison them? No? How about just to imprison them if they decide to open a business? Because in doing so they would be "taking advantage" of x interest of yours? Is it a legitimate law then?

Here's the right answer: If a law requires an initiation of force to enforce, then it is illegitimate, and has no business existing. India has no business creating and enforcing a law which initiates aggression against peaceful individuals, and that includes against Apple, landowners, potential customers, etc. Full stop, no exceptions.

 

[AFDoc]

For a country that still largely defecates out in the open and has a very high percentage (compared to other countries) of families putting their kids into prostitution they sure are choosy which companies they let in to do business.

 

[ForkHandles]

First of all, India is a socialist hellhole, so clearly they have not implemented policies which were good for them or their people. But that's not even the point. As I have already explained, no-one can claim to have a RIGHT to initiate the OPPOSITE or the foundation of rights. That is, no-one can claim to have a right to initiate force against anyone else, for any reason, ever. Preventing a peaceful company like Apple, or the landowners and developers, or the potential customers from operating against their reason is a direct violation of their rights, and it is being done by INITIATING FORCE against them. The stores would have been there a long time ago if they weren't being prevented from building them by some form of force wielding entity. I don't give a damn if the people think it's in their interest to violate Apple's rights, or the rights of the landowners, or the rights of Apple's potential customers etc. They. Do. Not. Have. The. RIGHT. To. Do. It.

Legitimate governments do not have a choice in their function. They function is dictated by the terms of reality. It is not legitimate to assert that they must do their "duty" if that duty includes violating ANYONE's rights. Period. There is no room for compromise there.

As for France,,,, France, and many other european countries like it, are a perfect example of the dereliction of the proper function of government. These countries are riddled with areas which are subject to sharia law, and are egregious existences. Sure, the government in those specific areas has been adapted to fit the culture of savages. Is that good? I don't think so either. In fact, organizations like that aren't strictly speaking governments, they are just a mobs which are held together by institutionalized gang rule. They exercise disgusting initiations of force in these areas, but the principle between them, and India, and many other countries remains the same; they INITIATE FORCE against peaceful people to accomplish their agenda by force.

It is evil. It is always evil. In ANY magnitude.

NO individual, OR government has the right to initiate force. That is the only point that matters. India, along with many others are doing it. It is wrong. Period.



By what standard do you evaluate the legitimacy of a law? How about if a law said to kill all the Jews? would you be in favor of it if it was reached democratically? No? How about just to imprison them? No? How about just to imprison them if they decide to open a business? Because in doing so they would be "taking advantage" of x interest of yours? Is it a legitimate law then?

Here's the right answer: If a law requires an initiation of force to enforce, then it is illegitimate, and has no business existing. India has no business creating and enforcing a law which initiates aggression against peaceful individuals, and that includes against Apple, landowners, potential customers, etc. Full stop, no exceptions.

What a purely right wing, narrow minded, un-informed load of tosh.

Socialist hellhole, savages, mob rule, Gang rule, pure rhetoric and no substance.

 

[hiddenmarkov]

This is actually good to hear. I would love rules like this for the USA. This country needs solid mfg jobs and companies like Apple should be required to make at least some of the products here. Nothing wrong Indias decision on this.

This really. Its kind of funny a major hirer of autoworkers happen to be Japanese makers . Who learned it's easier to ship car parts to the US and assemble on frames built in the US. Win win really...US workers get a boost, Japanese makers move more stuff in smaller shipments since you can ship lots of motors and transmissions for several cars in one container. Vice just 1 or 2 cars all assembled.


the hitting india 3rd world thing. Not sure how several jobs barely above minimum wage is going to turn them around either. This model has not worked well for turning other 3rd countries known for clothing manufacturing. There was no economic windfall to boost these countries.

Seamstresses getting paid peanuts, maybe the local management getting paid a bit better. But most of that money the local country does not see. Off the sewing tables for a few dollars, sold in the states and other 1st world for $90 USD (convert to local money if so desired). Lets have them make ye old sport jerseys. Its going to the big name player. the bonus to the account executive who bagged the big name player. None of that is filtering back to the 3rd world country. Its a job...fails at giving a windfall basically.



This is what India I think is trying to avoid. Lets have a plan of 5 stores. Assume 30 employees per store. They give in. And all they get is 150 low level retail jobs. This is not saving their country. Its not even saving the US really. As if you look at job numbers in detail we see small boosts here and there. these are usually low level/retail. As said before these job get them paying bills mainly. Maybe a few bucks left over. Its not stimulating the economy for damn sure. As I don't count high credit card debt as beneficial. I make 20 more, so I can buy 400 more on CC to cover the minimal payment. This is not healthy to the economy long term. Nor the average US person.

What i don't get in all this really. Some posters here have the nice jobs that let them buy stuff day 1. I am debating 9.7 IPP and I have legit reasons to buy one. But....that money maybe better used elsewhere. Their Old stuff not even sold on eBay yet. Assuming they have the nice jobs to do this not going into CC hell all I can say is good for you all.

But...the dose of reality here is you can better your lives (and stimulate your economies) because of the extra money you make. Something takes aways your job, all you can find is job at your local apple store the question I have is simply this....will your standard of living stay the same. I gather not.

That is all India is trying to do. Kind of hard to raise the standard of a country when you have 1st world coming with a slick smile, firm handshake and promises empty at best long term. This factory request....forces that promise to have some meat to as it where. Just threw up a certified electronics assembly facility (clean room standards, environmental controls, etc)....that promise has weight. It has an ROI of years to pay off. Its not going away in puff of smoke months later. Unlike a simple store. that can be shut down as easily as its opened.