More details have emerged from Sunday's encounter between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which Cook reportedly revealed he expects Apple's Indian operations to run entirely off renewable energy by the end of 2017.
The transition should happen within the next six months, Reuters quoted Cook as saying, based on a source familiar with Sunday's corporate roundtable. Cook and 20 other executives -- such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Google's Sundar Pichai -- met with Modi in Washington, D.C.
Cook also claimed that Apple has generated 740,000 jobs in India by way of the "app economy," and that local developers have produced almost 100,000 apps.
The CEO likely needs Modi's favor, since Apple has only just begun assembly in India and may want further tax concessions. The company has also yet to get approval for retail stores in the country, something contingent on local sourcing abilities.
Modi has championed a program called "Make in India," designed to spur local manufacturing. This has drawn concerns from some foreign multinationals, though it's unknown if Apple has resisted to any degree.
The company has been pursuing a global green energy strategy regardless of Indian politics, aiming to use renewable sources wherever possible. This includes nudging suppliers towards green power, or at least offsetting some of their environmental impact.