Apple to open Rs150-cr tech centre in Hyderabad

Following in the footsteps of fellow technology giants Google and Microsoft, Apple is set to open its first technology development centre outside the United States in India's Hyderabad.

The new centre, reports ZDNet, will be built on 250,000 square feet of land in real estate firm Tishman Speyer's WaveRock facility in Hyderabad's IT corridor.

The amount of investment is pegged at $25 million (Rs150 crore). This centre will create 4,500 jobs. The tech giant is expected to open its innovation centre in June and launch full-fledged operations by the end of the year.

''It's a very positive development as Apple has not looked at cities only in India, but across many places in Europe and other parts of the world. Their decision to have the facility in Hyderabad is a strong endorsement of the city as a major IT hub in the country,'' Jayesh Ranjan, secretary to IT department in Telangana, told ZDNet.

Earlier this month, there were reports of Apple getting clearance to open retail stores in India. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) secretary Amitabh Kant had confirmed about receiving Apple's application. A report said that the Indian government is planning to push through Apple's application to set up outlets. (See: Apple told to reapply for opening single-brand stores)

''Apple should qualify as a provider of cutting-edge technology. That would exempt the maker of iPhones and iPads from a rule forcing foreign businesses that retail a single brand in India to procure 30 per cent of a product's inputs locally,'' the report adds. Apple currently makes most of its products in China.

The India move doesn't come as a surprise as Apple is looking to expand markets in a bid to prove the most recent predictions wrong. Unlike others, Apple hasn't tapped the potential of emerging markets like India and relies on third-party resellers.

Soon after Katy Huberty predicted a 6 per cent drop in profits, a first of sorts, Apple's forecast revealed its first ever projected revenue drop in 13 years. This was driven, in part, by the slowest-ever increase in iPhone shipments as the Chinese market, critical to Apple's growth, showed signs of weakening.