Apple's Tim Cook says Indian operations to use all-green energy within 6 months

AppleInsider

More details have emerged from Sunday's encounter between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which Cook reportedly revealed he expects Apple's Indian operations to run entirely off renewable energy by the end of 2017.

The transition should happen within the next six months, Reuters quoted Cook as saying, based on a source familiar with Sunday's corporate roundtable. Cook and 20 other executives -- such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Google's Sundar Pichai -- met with Modi in Washington, D.C.

Cook also claimed that Apple has generated 740,000 jobs in India by way of the "app economy," and that local developers have produced almost 100,000 apps.

The CEO likely needs Modi's favor, since Apple has only just begun assembly in India and may want further tax concessions. The company has also yet to get approval for retail stores in the country, something contingent on local sourcing abilities.

Modi has championed a program called "Make in India," designed to spur local manufacturing. This has drawn concerns from some foreign multinationals, though it's unknown if Apple has resisted to any degree.

The company has been pursuing a global green energy strategy regardless of Indian politics, aiming to use renewable sources wherever possible. This includes nudging suppliers towards green power, or at least offsetting some of their environmental impact.

anantksundaram

Looks like Apple is setting renewable the bar again, this time for Indian companies (and its competitors in India). They did the same in the US. Then China. Now India. The company's goal is to create 4GW of generation capacity to make its entire value-chain renewable by 2020.

edited June 2017

gmgravytrain

I don't quite understand why Apple is going all out in India. Apple is going to get very little back from the Indian consumer. I believe 98% of the Indian consumer population are going to be happily buying $100 Android smartphones, so Samsung, the Chinese and local Indian brands are going to be getting most of the smartphone business. The news media is going to be poking fun at Apple for only having such a tiny percentage of smartphone market share and will be loudly jeering about how Apple has massively failed to win the hearts and minds of Indian consumers. It just seems as though Apple is wasting time and effort and nearly no one but a few Apple employees in India will care whether they make iPhones in India using renewable energy or not. Apple will again set the bar for renewable energy but it's a thankless task and mostly unappreciated.

soli

This is horrible. Apple is singlehandedly killing the coal industry. When the sun goes behind the clouds of it's night time all work has to stop. Such stupidity¡

soli

gmgravytrain said:

I don't quite understand why Apple is going all out in India. Apple is going to get very little back from the Indian consumer. I believe 98% of the Indian consumer population are going to be happily buying $100 Android smartphones, so Samsung, the Chinese and local Indian brands are going to be getting most of the smartphone business. The news media is going to be poking fun at Apple for only having such a tiny percentage of smartphone market share and will be loudly jeering about how Apple has massively failed to win the hearts and minds of Indian consumers. It just seems as though Apple is wasting time and effort and nearly no one but a few Apple employees in India will care whether they make iPhones in India using renewable energy or not. Apple will again set the bar for renewable energy but it's a thankless task and mostly unappreciated.

India is a longterm plan. They can't get lower costs in India without being present in India. Also, by helping build India's economy and making "affordable" luxury items Apple will be well positioned to generate large profits from a virtually untapped market. Remember when people said that the Chinese were too poor to afford iPhones? Now, we can debate how fast or even if India will grow in the same way China did, but even if it doesn't there's still huge benefits to labor costs that are being diminished in China. No matter what happens this is smart move by Apple.

shapetables

AppleInsider said:

The CEO likely needs Modi's favor, since Apple has only just begun assembly in India and may want further tax concessions. The company has also yet to get approval for retail stores in the country, something contingent on local sourcing abilities.

When KFC started in India, Indians violently rioted in front of the unopened franchises yelling "Just the chips not the chicks!". When the soda firms tried to start distribution, their prime minister scolded that India was quite capable of making and selling its own exorbitantly priced sugar water. Now the smartphone vendors are coming and they are forced to open factories [before they will be allowed to trade goods for money with Indian consumers]. Nuclear-capable India has also rejected the Non-Proliferation Treaty on the grounds that it is more restrictive on states other than the original five --the ultimate in protectionism. So there's little doubt that Trump and Modi discussed America's plan to curtail abuse of the loopholes in the H1B system that have already created an entire class of "indentured tech servants" so large that it now accounts for over 9% of India's GDP. It also stands to reason that Modi's subsequent visit with American industrial leaders probably underscored the economic consequences in store for companies that don't resist their country's new agenda [to fill as many American jobs as possible with patriots that will spend and invest in, raise families in and even die for America].

sflocal

gmgravytrain said:

I don't quite understand why Apple is going all out in India. Apple is going to get very little back from the Indian consumer. I believe 98% of the Indian consumer population are going to be happily buying $100 Android smartphones, so Samsung, the Chinese and local Indian brands are going to be getting most of the smartphone business. The news media is going to be poking fun at Apple for only having such a tiny percentage of smartphone market share and will be loudly jeering about how Apple has massively failed to win the hearts and minds of Indian consumers. It just seems as though Apple is wasting time and effort and nearly no one but a few Apple employees in India will care whether they make iPhones in India using renewable energy or not. Apple will again set the bar for renewable energy but it's a thankless task and mostly unappreciated.

Well, it's good that you did all the research for Apple.  Did you contact Tim Cook so he can close up shop and get out while he still has the shirt on his back?

Seriously, I'll trust that Tim Cook did his homework about India and has better information for penetrating the India market than you do.  India has the 2nd largest population in the world next to China, so even a humble percentage would be huge for Apple.  It may not happen in the next 5 years, but after that it's a different story.

foggyhill

sflocal said:

gmgravytrain said:

I don't quite understand why Apple is going all out in India. Apple is going to get very little back from the Indian consumer. I believe 98% of the Indian consumer population are going to be happily buying $100 Android smartphones, so Samsung, the Chinese and local Indian brands are going to be getting most of the smartphone business. The news media is going to be poking fun at Apple for only having such a tiny percentage of smartphone market share and will be loudly jeering about how Apple has massively failed to win the hearts and minds of Indian consumers. It just seems as though Apple is wasting time and effort and nearly no one but a few Apple employees in India will care whether they make iPhones in India using renewable energy or not. Apple will again set the bar for renewable energy but it's a thankless task and mostly unappreciated.

Well, it's good that you did all the research for Apple.  Did you contact Tim Cook so he can close up shop and get out while he still has the shirt on his back?

Seriously, I'll trust that Tim Cook did his homework about India and has better information for penetrating the India market than you do.  India has the 2nd largest population in the world next to China, so even a humble percentage would be huge for Apple.  It may not happen in the next 5 years, but after that it's a different story.

In some countries, like India, it takes a long time to set roots. That 90% is not able to afford an Iphone is irrelevant; just like it is irrelevant that 35% of the US population can't afford it.. Apple is selling right now to the 10% who can.

The Indian Pop is increasing faster than China and will soon surpass it and it's middle class is potentially enormous.

Also, Apple doesn't just sell the "Iphone", but an whole ecosystem of devices.

Who knows, maybe their planning on rolling out self-driving small busses, which in a country like India would probably be used by that 90% of the population who can't own the phone.

anantksundaram

teaearlegreyhot said:

"Renewable energy" in India means 25,000 untouchables running in hamster-wheel type generators.

Here's a tip for future reference -- assuming you care: that's the kind of statement that a bigot, usually an illiterate one at that, might make. It's plainly offensive.

I dare you to make a statement like that vis-a-vis the US, by say, substituting the 'N' word for the 'U' word, and say, 'cotton-picking generators' for 'hamster-wheel type generators.' 

Go on, let's see you do it.

edited June 2017

anantksundaram

gmgravytrain said:

I don't quite understand why Apple is going all out in India. Apple is going to get very little back from the Indian consumer. I believe 98% of the Indian consumer population are going to be happily buying $100 Android smartphones, so Samsung, the Chinese and local Indian brands are going to be getting most of the smartphone business. The news media is going to be poking fun at Apple for only having such a tiny percentage of smartphone market share and will be loudly jeering about how Apple has massively failed to win the hearts and minds of Indian consumers. It just seems as though Apple is wasting time and effort and nearly no one but a few Apple employees in India will care whether they make iPhones in India using renewable energy or not. Apple will again set the bar for renewable energy but it's a thankless task and mostly unappreciated.

Wow! Stop the presses!! We have a marketing/PR genius in our midst, Tim!!!

edited June 2017

teaearlegreyhot

anantksundaram said:

teaearlegreyhot said:

"Renewable energy" in India means 25,000 untouchables running in hamster-wheel type generators.

Here's a tip for future reference -- assuming you care: that's the kind of statement that a bigot, usually an illiterate one at that, might make. It's plainly offensive.

Okay, my apologies for the comment. I did not realize it is now an offensive term.  The last time I actually heard it used was 25 years ago, in neutral conversation without the intention of bigotry, by two recent arrivals from India (Indian), whom I still consider to be friends. The commenting system will not now allow me to edit or delete the post.  I meant to merely raise the issue that unskilled labor is very cheap there, and that when massive numbers of people are struggling just to survive, the focus on higher ideals like renewable energy can appear to be fanciful rather than practical. Maslow's Heirarchy, etc.  Apple's "first world problems" and their solutions seem as out of touch in this instance as English women sipping tea in 1850's Calcutta, worrying about stains on their fine dresses. 

bestkeptsecret

gmgravytrain said:

I don't quite understand why Apple is going all out in India. Apple is going to get very little back from the Indian consumer. I believe 98% of the Indian consumer population are going to be happily buying $100 Android smartphones, so Samsung, the Chinese and local Indian brands are going to be getting most of the smartphone business. The news media is going to be poking fun at Apple for only having such a tiny percentage of smartphone market share and will be loudly jeering about how Apple has massively failed to win the hearts and minds of Indian consumers. It just seems as though Apple is wasting time and effort and nearly no one but a few Apple employees in India will care whether they make iPhones in India using renewable energy or not. Apple will again set the bar for renewable energy but it's a thankless task and mostly unappreciated.

Do you seriously have to ask the same question again and again on every thread that talks about Apple and India?

anantksundaram

teaearlegreyhot said:

  The last time I actually heard it used was 25 years ago, in neutral conversation without the intention of bigotry, by two recent arrivals from India (Indian), whom I still consider to be friends. 

That justification's about as relevant or useful as my knowing a couple of African-Americans -- friends still -- who used the N word. 

soli

anantksundaram said:

teaearlegreyhot said:

  The last time I actually heard it used was 25 years ago, in neutral conversation without the intention of bigotry, by two recent arrivals from India (Indian), whom I still consider to be friends. 

That justification's about as relevant or useful as my knowing a couple of African-Americans -- friends still -- who used the N word. 

I don't think writing "N-word" when you're clearly referring to the word "nigger" is helpful. I don't fault you for it because it's the status quo, but it does further create a taboo around the use of a word—a word!—which will negatively affect societal growth in the longterm; and this word, in particular, is also a word that is allowed to be used by one "race" and not others, thereby being an example of racism in and of itself. That's exceedingly irrational and will continue to hinder the end of this false notion of "race" while we allow prohibition based on some social grouping for a string of fucking letters and a series of phonemes.





How about we analyze communication and then either get offended by intent or ask follow up questions to verify intent? I agree with you that untouchables is an offensive term, but I can't be certain if @teaearlegreyhot's intent is to be offensive. Do you think Louis CK's bit in the link above is mean to be offensive or is he simply pointing out something about society. We both know that castes still exist and there are far too many destitute people in India that have never had a chance at life. If he would've said, "'Renewable energy' in India means 25,000 [Dalit] running in hamster-wheel type generators," would that have made it better? Would you have responded the same way? Is he just attempting social commentary like comedians try to do?


PS: I've always found it odd that terms like "jungle fever" are somehow acceptable—Spike Lee even wrote and directed a movie by that name!—yet the term only has one meaning when it comes to relationships and that is one person is dating someone who is uncivilized or primitive. It never just means just an uncultured person of any so-called "race" and is used no matter how educated this "black" person is. Why isn't that offensive as fuck?

edited June 2017

teaearlegreyhot

Soli said:

anantksundaram said:

teaearlegreyhot said:

  The last time I actually heard it used was 25 years ago, in neutral conversation without the intention of bigotry, by two recent arrivals from India (Indian), whom I still consider to be friends. 

That justification's about as relevant or useful as my knowing a couple of African-Americans -- friends still -- who used the N word. 

...If we would've said, "'Renewable energy' in India means 25,000 [Dalit] running in hamster-wheel type generators," would that have made it better? Would you have responded the same way? Is he just attempting social commentary like comedians try to do?

Again, I certainly did not mean offense.  Anantksundaram is already upset, and it seems I can't change that; I'm not justifying my usage, merely explaining where I found the term and why I had no reason to think it offensive.  Now I know better.  Thank you Soli for providing the term I should have used: "Dalit". Though with the benefit of hindsight, I would have given more context to my comment so as to reduce angst.  I was too busy remembering a recent documentary where the use of "spit dogs" was covered, and which caused me to reflect on my own treadmill usage, and eventually led to my uninformed comment in an attempt to be colorful in prose.  And with that, I'm finished apologizing for this transgression; time to move on.  Cheers, all.  

anantksundaram

teaearlegreyhot said:

Anantksundaram is already upset, and it seems I can't change that; I'm not justifying my usage, merely explaining...

1) I am not at all upset. Just calling out something that I think is offensive. I'll do the same if you used something similar to describe other cultures or groups. I'll admit that my style is a bit blunt.

2) When you use terms such as "fanciful," or "Maslow's hierarchy" (I doubt you have any clue what the notion of self-actualization means in the Indian culture or context -- that's something else you may wish to try and understand), "Apple's solutions seem out of touch," or "English sipping tea in Calcutta in 1850" (c'mon, tell me that wasn't sarcasm), you are clearly justifying, not explaining.

tallest skil

Soli said:
the end of this false notion of "race"

What the fucking hell happened to you. You used to be intelligent. Take a fucking biology course.

soli

anantksundaram said:

teaearlegreyhot said:

Anantksundaram is already upset, and it seems I can't change that; I'm not justifying my usage, merely explaining...

1) I am not at all upset. Just calling out something that I think is offensive. I'll do the same if you used something similar to describe other cultures or groups. I'll admit that my style is a bit blunt.

2) When you use terms such as "fanciful," or "Maslow's hierarchy" (I doubt you have any clue what the notion of self-actualization means in the Indian culture or context -- that's something else you may wish to try and understand), "Apple's solutions seem out of touch," or "English sipping tea in Calcutta in 1850" (c'mon, tell me that wasn't sarcasm), you are clearly justifying, not explaining.

1) Why not just point out that the term is offensive instead of getting emotional about its usage when there are no indicators in his statement that he believes any Indians are in any way inferior? Or, as previously mentioned, state why you think it's offensive and then ask him to clarify his point. If he's being a bigot, he'll likely double-down on his reply.

2) I'd say that telling someone that they have no idea what self-actualization means is the most offensive comment anyone has made directly to another forum member on this thread.

tallest skil

Soli said:

1) Why not just point out that the term is offensive instead of getting emotional about its usage

See, you STILL make good points!

muthuk_vanalingam

tallest skil said:

Soli said:
the end of this false notion of "race"

What the fucking hell happened to you. You used to be intelligent. Take a fucking biology course.

What happened to you sir? Way too much use of F word than necessary???

anantksundaram

Soli said:

anantksundaram said:

teaearlegreyhot said:

Anantksundaram is already upset, and it seems I can't change that; I'm not justifying my usage, merely explaining...

1) I am not at all upset. Just calling out something that I think is offensive. I'll do the same if you used something similar to describe other cultures or groups. I'll admit that my style is a bit blunt.

2) When you use terms such as "fanciful," or "Maslow's hierarchy" (I doubt you have any clue what the notion of self-actualization means in the Indian culture or context -- that's something else you may wish to try and understand), "Apple's solutions seem out of touch," or "English sipping tea in Calcutta in 1850" (c'mon, tell me that wasn't sarcasm), you are clearly justifying, not explaining.

1) Why not just point out that the term is offensive instead of getting emotional about its usage when there are no indicators in his statement that he believes any Indians are in any way inferior? Or, as previously mentioned, state why you think it's offensive and then ask him to clarify his point. If he's being a bigot, he'll likely double-down on his reply.

2) I'd say that telling someone that they have no idea what self-actualization means is the most offensive comment anyone has made directly to another forum member on this thread.

1) For a guy whose prior post was about assessment of intent, you're being rather casual -- and self-contradictory -- aren't you? You have no frickin' basis for assessing my intent other than exactly what I said it was: "Just calling out something that I think is offensive. I'll do the same if you used something similar to describe other cultures or groups." Read that again. No less, no more. Also, it's a tad condescending, even arrogant, of you to presume that I (or anyone else) should adopt your method and manner of internet communication.

2) Give me break: stop cherry-picking what I wrote to grotesquely quote it out of context. That is inexcusable. I said "what the notion of self-actualization means in the Indian culture or context". One, he brought up Maslow's hierarchy of needs, where the top of the pyramid is "self actualization." Two, I am sure you'll agree that Indian culture, history, Hinduism/Buddhism/Jainism as major religions that came out of the subcontinent, and various branches of rather substantive Eastern philosophies that have come from there over many millennia are replete with references to self-actualization as the ultimate goal of human existence, and paths to its achievement. (Happy to engage you in a detailed conversation on that offline, if you're interested.) Three, the OP admitted that the basis for his post was interactions that he had with a couple of Indians 25 years ago, which did not suggest a great deal of depth or thought, let alone any major understanding of India. Please explain the validity of your comment given these qualifiers. 

edited June 2017