Apple pledges to run its Indian operations completely from renewable energy by 2018

Tim Cook recently disclosed that Apple expects its Indian operations to be run completely from renewable energy within the next six months. Cook said that during a Sunday meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at a business summit in Washington, according to a person familiar with the discussion who spoke with Reuters.

The move is part of Apple’s mission to leave the world better than we found it.

He also highlighted the economic impact Apple is having on India:

We have a ton of energy going into the country on a number of fronts. We believe, particularly now that the 4G infrastructure is going in the country and it’s continuing to be expanded, there is a huge opportunity for Apple there.

Apple has generated 740,000 jobs in India thus far and Indian developers have created nearly 100,000 apps for its App Store, said another person familiar with the talks.

Cook said Apple’s sales in India grew by “strong double digits” in the most recent quarter, but didn’t disclosed how much revenue the company generated from Indian operations.

As a limited run of ”Assembled in India” iPhone SE units went on sale in many Indian cities, Apple is seeking additional concessions from the Indian government as it looks to expand its presence in the world’s third-largest smartphone market behind the United States and China.

Among other things, the Cupertino tech giant is seeking permission to open its own retail stores in India where it currently sells iPhones through resellers.