Apple will establish an app design and development centre in Bengaluru, the company's CEO Tim Cook said on Wednesday, during his maiden visit to India. The aim of opening the facility is to support Indian engineers and grow the country's app developers' community for Apple's iOS operating system. “With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we’re giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world,” Cook said.

Bengaluru has the largest app developer community outside Silicon Valley in the United States, IANS reported. Apple's facility, which will also provide support and guidance on Apple’s programming language Swift, is expected to open in early 2017, IANS reported. Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple is set to open its first technology development centre outside the United States in Hyderabad.