NEW DELHI: The information technology ministry has approved contract manufacturer Wistron’s Rs 5,000-crore plan to make high-end Apple devices, a move that will give a big push to the government’s Make in India initiative. Wistron currently makes cheaper Apple phones in India.“We have just approved Wistron’s Rs 5,091-crore application and it is with the Cabinet now… Wistron will make the latest iPhone models,” IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in an interview, adding that another contract manufacturer Foxconn had submitted an application for a Rs 2,500-crore project on December 31.The government isn’t too perturbed by the additional incentives being given by China as it seeks to maintain its place as the leader in electronics manufacturing. India has other significant advantages, he pointed out.“Openness of India’s democratic polity, where creativity is recognised and respected, adds its own incentive,” he said. “We gave little incentive and you saw how many people came.”Prasad said India offers three advantages — a burgeoning workforce, English fluency, skilled workers in plenty and the fastestgrowing smartphone market in the world.Ahead of India’s general polls, Prasad expects platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to abide by the EC Election Commission’s diktat on campaigning be ing halted 48 hours before polling starts.“I would expect social media platforms to give due consideration and respect to the wish and the mandate of the Election Commission,” he said. “There will have to be technological solutions to address these concerns over fairness of election campaign and the onus is on the social media platforms… As these social media platforms respect the (legislative) institutions of America, Indian parliamentary institutions are also to be respected.”Prasad said that the government’s recently announced software products policy is aimed at creating an ecosystem that will lead to world-beating companies being birthed in India. The government will lend full support to software product makers, including protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).“India is known for its software services—we want it to become a big hub for products,” he said. “The policy aims to create Indian Googles and Facebooks.”He said the government will source software products from these Indian companies and has set up a Rs5,000 crore fund to support such development.“It is but natural, they will be cheaper and more tuned to India’s needs. Remember 55% of global R&D is done in India,” Prasad said.He conceded that IPR was a big challenge in India and that the government would do “everything that is needed” to make India a strong IPR hub.