NEW DELHI - As the business launched a second location in the significant mobile phone market, a minister predicted that Apple may double or quadruple its investments and exports to India over the following several years.

Through contract manufacturers, Apple mostly assembles iPhones in India, but it also has plans to produce iPads and AirPods there.

"I am very confident that this Apple-India partnership has a lot of headroom for investments, growth, exports, and jobs - doubling and tripling over coming years," Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the deputy information technology minister, told the reporters.

His remarks were made following a meeting on Wednesday with Apple CEO Tim Cook in the nation's capital, New Delhi.

Cook said Apple was "committed to growing and investing across the country" and added that he had also spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He opened an Apple store in New Delhi on Thursday, two days after doing so in Mumbai, the nation's financial center.

Manika Mehta, 32, an Android phone user, said, "We've come here only to see Tim Cook," as she stood in line at the Delhi store in support of her husband, an Apple supporter.

For Cook's brief appearance, 500 people had gathered. Cook conversed with fans and took selfies, just as in Mumbai.

A lot of media attention has been given to Cook's visit, and he has been treated like a Bollywood celebrity. Some people have attempted to touch his feet as a sign of respect, while others have begged for his autograph.

To lessen its dependency on China, Apple has been working to expand its manufacturing operations in India. Foxconn and Wistron Corp., two Taiwanese manufacturers of contract electronics, construct its products, including iPhones, in India.