{"text":[[{"start":8.28,"text":"Narendra Modi’s government has proposed widening tax exemptions for foreign investors such as Apple, part of efforts to strengthen the country’s tech supply chain and position it as a manufacturing rival to China."}],[{"start":21.08,"text":"The move would extend tax breaks by 10 years to 2041 for foreign companies that supply equipment to contract manufacturers including Taiwan’s Foxconn and domestic giant Tata Electronics, which assemble iPhones in India."}],[{"start":35.84,"text":"Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the proposed tax amendments, which were submitted to parliament on Tuesday, were needed “on an urgent basis” to “provide ease of doing business and tax certainty”."}],[{"start":47,"text":"New Delhi earlier this year introduced the tax exemption, which was valid until 2031, as part of Modi’s “Make in India” drive to turn the country into a manufacturing powerhouse."}],[{"start":57.52,"text":"Smartphone makers had been asking the government to modify laws to ensure companies are not taxed for owning the machinery they provide to their manufacturers, according to senior industry executives."}],[{"start":67.7,"text":"“When a foreign company supplies machinery and tooling to an Indian factory that makes electronics on its behalf, its income from doing so was made tax-free,” a finance ministry document said. “Based on representations from stakeholders, it was felt that the [original] exemption window is too short to plan large, long-term investments.”"}],[{"start":87.56,"text":"Under the bill, which is expected to be passed by India’s parliament in the coming days, the exemption will apply to manufacturers of electronic goods including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, servers as well as wearable devices."}],[{"start":100.64,"text":"The proposals are “aimed squarely at strengthening India as a manufacturing base, especially for electronics, and at deepening the supply chains that support it”, the ministry document said. “These measures give them the long-term certainty they need to commit.”"}],[{"start":115.36,"text":"The move “lessens the burden” on foreign companies and “will provide a boost” to the sector, said Pankaj Mohindroo, chair of the India Cellular & Electronics Association. “For contract manufacturers, this is a well-accepted international practice,” he added."}],[{"start":129.2,"text":"Through its manufacturing partners in India, Apple is projected to produce a record 26 per cent of global iPhone shipments in 2026, up from 22 per cent in 2025 and just 6 per cent in 2022, according to Counterpoint Research, as the US tech giant seeks to diversify its manufacturing base from China."}],[{"start":148.6,"text":"“This rapid scaling shows supply chain diversification taking real hold, with local policy support accelerating Apple’s ‘China plus one’ strategy,” said Neil Shah, vice-president of research at Counterpoint."}],[{"start":161.12,"text":"Investors have long urged India to reduce red tape, relax labour laws and simplify taxation and compliance, arguing that reform, particularly of taxation, could stimulate investment and create jobs."}],[{"start":172.96,"text":"Under Modi, India has eased company registration requirements, consolidated labour codes and digitised and streamlined tax processes in an effort to improve the ease of doing business."}],[{"start":184.2,"text":"But businesses still complain of erratic tax enforcement, an issue that has become more pressing as Modi woos global investors and seeks to challenge China as a global manufacturing base."}],[{"start":194.76,"text":"A tax exemption until 2031 was “shorter than the payback from the capex it was supposed to invite”, said Anupam Manur, a professor of economics at the Takshashila Institution, a Bengaluru-based research centre."}],[{"start":207.84,"text":"“The extended deadline until 2041 is adequate for load bearing. This will lower the transaction and tax costs, which should make India a bit more appealing,” he added. “This is tax hygiene that removes a self-inflicted disadvantage.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"