India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Apple to set up a manufacturing base in India and CEO Tim Cook responded "positively," reports The Times of India (http://tinyurl.com/o7yv5bq).

"The Prime Minister (in his meeting with Cook) said he would like Apple to start manufacturing in India. He mentioned the huge opportunities India offered," Ministry of external affairs spokesman Vikas Swarup told reporters. ""Cook responded positively. I think India does fits into his long term plans. He particularly was interested in the whole App development economy, which he said could be a very very important factor for entrepreneurship where individual app developers can just become part of the app universe."

Earlier this year it was reported that Foxconn, which is Apple's largest manufactures, is in talks to manufacture iPhone in India. The company plans to develop 10-12 facilities in India, including factories and data centers, by 2020.
"Foxconn is sending a delegation of their officers to scout for locations in a month's time," Subhash Desai, Industries Minister of India's western state Maharashtra, told Reuters (http://tinyurl.com/ow78f26). India could help Foxconn mitigate accelerating wage inflation in China, where it makes the majority of iPhones, and base production sites closer to markets where its key clients want to grow, the article says.

Lower production costs could also help Foxconn keep hold of Apple orders amid intensifying competition with nimble manufacturing rivals such as Quanta Computer, adds Reuters.