According to people familiar with the matter, Apple Inc. is reorganising the management of its international businesses to focus more on India, a sign of the country's growing importance.

The change will mark the first time that Apple will have its own sales region in India, which has seen a surge in demand. According to the people who asked not to be identified because the move has not yet been announced, this will give the Asian country greater prominence within the tech giant.

Apple is making the change following the retirement of Hugues Asseman, its vice president in charge of India, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, East Europe, and Africa. With his departure, Apple promotes Ashish Chowdhary, the company's head of India who reports to Asseman. Chowdhary will now report directly to Apple's head of product sales, Michael Fenger.

Last quarter, the company reported record revenue in India, despite a 5% drop in total sales. Apple has set up an online store for the region and plans to open its first retail stores in the country later this year. On the company's most recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook stated that the company is putting "a lot of emphasis on the market" and compared the current state of its work in India to its early years in China.

“We are, in essence, taking what we learned in China years ago and how we scale to China and bringing that to bear," he said. China currently generates roughly $75 billion a year for Apple, making it the company’s biggest sales region after the Americas and Europe.

India is becoming increasingly important to Apple's product development, in addition to serving as a sales engine. According to reports, key suppliers are relocating to the region, and Apple is collaborating with manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as Foxconn, to establish new iPhone production facilities in the country.