This is why Apple’s Cook might be visiting India

Apple is looking to set up its first retail outlet in India, where it only has about a 2 percent market share. But its sales there surged 56 percent in the first three months of this year

Apple is looking to set up its first retail outlet in India, where it only has about a 2 percent market share. But its sales there surged 56 percent in the first three months of this year (Reuters file photo)

Apple's CEO Tim Cook will visit India this week to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

His visit comes at a crucial time as Apple seeks new growth markets such as India after posting its first-ever decline in iPhone sales.

Cook, who is visiting China after announcing a $1 billion investment in Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing, will fly to India on Tuesday in his first official visit to the country as the head of the US technology company, one of the sources said. The sources declined to be named as the plan is not public yet. Apple declined to provide details of Cook's schedule in India.

Apple is looking to set up its first retail outlet in India, where it only has about a 2 percent market share. But its sales there surged 56 percent in the first three months of this year, driven mainly by cheaper older-generation devices such as the iPhone 5S. The company has also been struggling to get permissions to sell their refurbished products in the country.

Cook is also expected to launch a startup accelerator in India, according to a report in ET. If true, it will be the first time that Apple incubates startups with ideas most likely for their own products. Afterall, Apple is banking heavily on its software to negate the slump in iPhone sales.

It's also likely that the company's CEO is visiting to set up the first local manufacturing plant outside of China in India. Apple is said to be in talks with Foxconn and Indian government for the same.

With inputs from Reuters