Apple's design and development accelerator to open in Bangluru in 2017

Global Technology major Apple plans to open a centre in Bengaluru to help support app makers for its iPhones and other products.

The company will establish a design and development accelerator in Bengaluru, which is expected to open in early 2017.

This initiative will provide additional, specialised support for them, and will be tens of thousands of developers in India make apps for iOS, Apple's operating system, the company said in a statement.

Apple's team will work to inspire and instruct developers on best practices, help them hone their skills and transform the design, quality and performance of their apps on the iOS platform.

''India is home to one of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world,'' said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. ''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.''

Each week, Apple experts will lead briefings and provide one-on-one app reviews for developers.

The facility will also provide support and guidance on Swift, Apple's powerful and intuitive programming language created to build apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch. Swift enables developers to write safer, more reliable code, save time and create richer app experiences.

A recent report by developer placement firm Toptal shows jobs requesting Swift rose 600 percent in 2015.

''This is a huge vote of confidence in India's developer community and a tremendous opportunity to gain world-class design and development expertise,'' said Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. ''Apple's support will help drive growth and accelerate progress among the country's vast talent pool.''

''Apple's investment in Bengaluru through its iOS development accelerator will have far-reaching effects for the area's rapidly growing and highly talented developer community,'' said NASSCOM President R Chandrashekhar.

''The skills and training they gain through this effort will significantly improve their app design and help them reach a broader market. Initiatives like these move the country forward in our efforts to advance a growth-led and sustainable technology sector,'' he added.

Bengaluru is now home to more technology startups than any other part of India. Over one million people in the city work in the tech sector, and over 40 per cent of graduates from local universities specialise in engineering or information technology.