MAKE IN INDIA

As world economies restart their engines in a bid to regain lost ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India too shows signs of economic buoyancy and promise. India’s Make in India initiative holds a key to the global economic revival, something that should interest Australian government ministries, corporate sector, entrepreneurs, institutions seeking R&D collaborations and Australia Inc in general, among others. India assumes greater importance as several major world economies including American, Japanese, German, British and South Korean look to move out and diversify their businesses from China. India has jumped to 63rd rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Development 2020 report, and has also been ranked as the 9th largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment destinations in 2019 by the World Investment Report 2020 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Apple gets bullish on India market with iPhone 15 launch amid ‘huge opportunity’

New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) With iPhone 15, Apple has further made India a sweet spot in its future scheme of things -- ‘Make in India’ devices to roll out on the global sale day (September 22), support for ISRO-made GPS called NavIC, and availability of new products in the country along with the global markets (which started last year) – as it doubles down on local manufacturing.

Driven by the premiumisation of the smartphone market, uptick in first-time users who are shifting from Android to the Apple ecosystem and a young population, India is now among the top five global markets for Apple -- after China, the US, Japan. and the UK.

"We have seen a definitive trend where Apple is now attracting many first-time users for its newly-launched iPhones in India, apart from a robust sale of previous-generation devices which continue to increase Apple’s overall market share in the country," Counterpoint Research Director Tarun Pathak told IANS.

Pathak said that the base iPhone 15 models will see a solid uptick in India as "there is a significant upgrade for those shifting from previous iPhone 11, 12 and even 13-gen models".

Apple set a June quarter record in India, driven by the robust sales of iPhones, according to its CEO Tim Cook.

The tech giant opened its ownbranded Mumbai and Delhi retail stores in the country in April this year, which met with great enthusiasm.

India is set to cross Rs 1,20,000 crore in mobile phone exports in the current fiscal year and according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), Apple's market share is set to exceed 50 per cent in FY24.

Driven by domestic manufacturing, Apple iPhones are set to garner 7 per cent market share in the Android-dominated smartphone market in India this year, according to latest data. Apple iPhone shipments grew 68 per cent (year-on-year) in the first half of this year in the country.

In the first half, Apple secured a 6 per cent market share in the Indian smartphone market and dominated the super-premium smartphone segment (priced between Rs 50,000-Rs 100,000) with a robust 63 per cent market share, according to market intelligence firm CyberMedia Research (CMR).

For the first time, Apple will sell Make in India’ iPhone 15 on the first day of its global sales, within the country as well as export to a few other markets sooner than ever before, according to sources.

A small set of ‘Make in India’ iPhone 15 units is set to be exported to other countries within a short span of time from its global availability which is September 22.

There are estimates that the iPhone 15 shipments in the launch quarter, which heralds the massive festive season in India, will hover around 65 per cent, driven by an increased ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Last year, the tech giant started assembling the iPhone 14 at the Foxconn facility in India in September, a first in years when a new iPhone was assembled within weeks of its global launch in the country.

This time, Apple has also extended support for the Indian satellite navigation system NavIC for its high-end iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max models for location-based services. It, however, is yet to reveal what features will be part of the NavIC support in the country. Apple continues to work on building out the channel and putting more investment in its direct-to-consumer offers in the country.

(Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in)

India moving forward with great enthusiasm in adopting new technology: Prez Murmu

New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS)

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said India is moving forward with great enthusiasm in adopting new technology and working methods in many fields, including health sector. The President said this in her address after virtually launching the Ayushman Bhav campaign from Raj Bhavan in Gujarat, in presence of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and other dignitaries.

Citing that Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) was launched in September 2021, she expressed confidence that India would set the example of digital inclusion in the field of healthcare services also like other sectors.

Talking about the Ayushman Bhav campaign, the President said, "It would make our country successful in achieving the objective of Universal Health Coverage (UHC)."

"If every person and every family stays healthy, then the resolve to build a healthy India would be fulfilled. A multi-ministerial approach has been adopted to achieve this goal.

Everyone's cooperation would be helpful in achieving such big goals," Murmu said.

Speaking on the occasion Mandaviya said, "Ayushman Bhav will emerge as a big initiative in the field of healthcare. With this campaign, India is going to write a new chapter in making healthcare affordable and accessible."

AWS partners ISRO, IN-SPACe to boost space-tech innovations in India

New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) Amazon Web Services (AWS) India on Wednesday said it has signed a strategic MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to support space-tech innovations through cloud computing.

The collaboration, said the Amazon’s Cloud subsidiary, will give space startups, research institutes and students access to cutting edge cloud technologies that accelerate the development of new solutions in the space sector.

“We are at a pivotal time in India’s space journey as the Indian government focuses on broadening and strengthening the country’s capabilities in the aerospace and satellite industry,” said,” Shalini Kapoor, Director and Chief Technologist, Public Sector, AWS India and South Asia.

“We look forward to helping customers in India build spacetech solutions to make life on Earth better,” Kapoor added.

PM Modi ‘doing the right thing’ by promoting Make in India: Putin

Moscow, Sep 13 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again lauded the 'Make in India' initiative and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "doing the right thing" by promoting the policy.

In his address to the plenary session of the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok on Tuesday, Putin gave India's example while responding to a query about Russian-manufacture automobiles.

"You know, we did not have domestically made cars then, but we do now. It is true that they look more modest than Mercedes or Audi cars, which we bought in vast amounts in the 1990s, but this is not an issue.

"I think that we should emulate many of our partners, for example, India. They are focused on the manufacture and use of Indian-made vehicles.

"I think that Prime Minister Modi is doing the right thing in promoting the 'Make in India' programme. He is right," the Russian leader said. He went on to say that it is "absolutely fine" to use Russianmade automobiles.

"This will not lead to any infringements of our WTO obligations, absolutely not. It will concern state purchases. We must create a certain chain regarding what cars different classes of officials can drive, so that they will use domestically-made cars. "You probably know about the proposals to continue buying these cars. It would be easy to do, because the logistics are streamlined," Putin added. In June while addressing an economic forum in Moscow, Putin had called Modi "a great friend of Russia" and praised the 'Make in India' initiative.

“Our friends in India and our big friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Make in India’ initiative several years ago. It has had a truly impressive effect on the Indian economy. It would do no harm to emulate what is working well, even if it was not us but our friends who created it,” the President had said.

The 'Make in India' initiative was launched by Prime Minister Modi in 2014 aimed to to create and encourage companies to develop, manufacture and assemble products made in the country and incentivise dedicated investments into manufacturing.

Putin and Modi last met on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan in September 2022.

The President did not attend the G20 Summit held in New Delhi on September 9-10. He was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. AWS’s educational programmes on cloud computing in combination with ISRO’s space-tech expertise will inspire future generations to pursue a career in India’s growing space sector.