The Indian government has reportedly rejected smartphone giant Apple's request to sell refurbished iPhones in India. According to a report in Bloomberg, "The US company's application has been turned down." The report quotes telecommunications ministry officials. Apple had sought permission from the government to import pre-owned iPhones for sale in India. In a written reply to Rajya Sabha telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "An application from Apple regarding import of certified pre-owned iPhones for sale in India and manufacturing certified pre-owned iPhones for sale in India has been received in the ministry of environment and forests."

Sudhir Hasija, chairman of Karbonn Mobiles, had said, "Make in India could turn into Dump in India." Recently, Apple has also sent an application for approval to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) for setting up retail outlets in India. For this, a government panel has recommended exempting the iPhone and iPad maker from mandatory local sourcing norms. This would pave the way for the company to open single-bits brand retail stores in the country.

As per the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, the government may relax the mandatory local sourcing norms for entities undertaking single-brand retailing of products having state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology and where local sourcing is not possible.