Delhi relaxes rules, clears way for Apple stores in India

New Delhi

THE gleaming glass atriums and blue-clad "geniuses" that herald the arrival of an Apple store could soon be landing in India, after the government cleared the way for it to open in the rapidly growing smartphone market.

Before now, the Silicon Valley giant has been just a bit-player in the country of 1.2 billion people, selling through local shops with none of its own. It applied to open stores in January, but was reportedly rebuffed because of a diktat that states foreign retailers must source 30 per cent of their products locally.