Why Apple is betting big on India

The intricate timber roof-tiles were assembled in Delhi, the bright stone walls sourced from Rajasthan. But the man who opened the door of Apple’s gleaming new Mumbai outlet on April 18th had been flown in from California. Tim Cook, Apple’s boss, dispensed high-fives and as he opened that shop and, two days later, an equally ritzy outlet in Delhi, the first Apple stores in India.Soon to become the world’s most populous country, India has a new strategic importance for the world’s most valuable firm. As the crowds at Apple’s stores demonstrated, India is a growing consumer of pricey tech gadgetry. And as the humming factories outside Chennai show, the country is also increasingly a maker of them. With political and logistical difficulties mounting in China, Apple is putting down roots in a new Asian market.