India’s reformed FDI policy clears the road for Apple stores

India’s foreign direct investment policy, which received a much-needed reform on Monday, has opened up roads for Apple to open up its own stores in the country, thus boosting its sales and the overall plans ahead.

Apple has long seen India as a potential market, especially after the recent ban imposed on iPhone sales in China. With India sales being the only golden spot in the tech giant’s latest quarterly earnings, Apple has doubled its efforts in increasing its sales here. Tim Cook, on his recent visit to India, said that he sees the country as one of the most important markets in terms of setting benchmarks for sales and service.

The new rules do not specifically benefit Apple, but a whole gamut of foreign companies who want to set shop here, including IKEA. The norms have also been liberalized regarding restrictions on inbound investments in pharmaceuticals and retail. Also, the defense and civil aviation sectors are opening up to 100 percent outside ownership.

The new norms stipulate that companies that undertake single brand retail trading will get a waiver only for three years. In case the entity proves to provide products that can be considered “state of the art” and the company is exempted from local sourcing norms, it can extend its waiver by another 5 years. This wasn’t available to foreign entities until now.