NEW DELHI: Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook’s visit to India does not seem to have borne much fruit, with the government deciding not to relax a local content sourcing norm for the iPhone maker, which wants to set up stores in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market The US company’s proposal to set up Apple Stores under the singlebrand policy has been approved without any relaxation in the sourcing conditions, two officials privy to the development said. Apple can set up single-brand retail stores in India but it will have to meet the 30% local content sourcing requirement, they said. “Apple’s proposal is acceptable to us but we cannot make an exception for it and forego the sourcing requirement if it wants to set up its own stores here,” a senior government official said.Apple had applied for the relaxation under new foreign direct investment rules for companies bringing cuttingedge technology to India. The policy allows the sourcing condition to be waived for cutting-edge technology, a term that hasn’t been clearly spelt out. The government has set up a panel to clear proposals seeking relaxation of this norm.“There was no technical person in the cutting-edge panel, no substantial backing to the claim that there was cutting-edge technology,” the second official said. “A broad policy needs to be in place to define what is cutting edge. It has to be there upfront in the policy. Otherwise it would be open to discretion and charges of corruption.” Apple declined to comment on the matter.According to revised norms announced by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion in November 2015, companies that bring cutting-edge and state-of-the-art technology to India can open singlebrand outlets without meeting the local sourcing norm, subject to government approval.Other companies that have sought similar exemption include Chinese handset makers Xiaomi and LeEco . The three-member special panel that considers such applications had recommended Apple’s case to the Department of Economic Affairs, suggesting that the company be exempt from the sourcing conditions.The panel consisted of the secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, a member of the Niti Aayog and a representative of the administrative ministry.Apple currently sells its products in India through a network of franchisee-owned stores and sales crossed the $1-billion mark in 2014-15. Cook on Saturday told Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the possibility of manufacturing and retailing of Apple products in India, which has emerged as a key growth market for the company after global iPhone sales fell in the January-March quarter, the first drop in 13 years.