Tata-run iPhone plant would benefit India, executive says

If Tata Group's bid to take over an iPhone assembly plant in southern India is successful, it would give a boost to the country's ambitions to become an electronics manufacturing hub, a top executive at the conglomerate's software services arm said.
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N Ganapathy Subramaniam, operating chief at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., told Bloomberg TV’s Rishaad Salamat and Haslinda Amin in an interview on Tuesday that the proposed electronics manufacturing hub in India should be beneficial for the country. Subramaniam said that the hub will create opportunities for India to manufacture electronics and microelectronics.
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The Tata Group, a conglomerate with interests ranging from salt to airlines, has been in talks for months with Apple Inc.'s Taiwanese supplier Wistron Corp. and is looking to seal the purchase of its assembly factory near Bangalore by the end of March. The group has been expanding its presence in technology, and India's government has taken steps to challenge China's dominance in electronics.
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Subramaniam and Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran are brothers who come from India’s southern Tamil Nadu state.
TCS shares fell by 2.7% on Tuesday after the company reported a net profit of 108.5 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) for the three months ending December 31. This figure fell short of the average analyst estimate of 110.85 billion rupees.
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Subramaniam said that the company's mixed environment is broad based and that they have achieved a lot of momentum. He added that the qualified pipeline looks good.
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The IT company announced a special dividend of 67 rupees a share on Monday, in line with its capital allocation policy, Subramaniam said.
TCS, Asia's largest outsourcer, has enough cash on hand to pursue mergers and acquisitions and other strategic opportunities in areas including cybersecurity and cloud solutions, according to company CEO Natarajan Chandrasekaran.