India to restrict Chinese OEMs from selling phones priced under Rs.12,000

India has one of the best smartphone markets in the world as it is dominated by budget and mid-range smartphones made by prominent Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and other brands based out of the nation. Though this has been a blessing for the consumers, the government is looking to restrict these brands from selling smartphones that retail under $150 or Rs.12,000.

Budget smartphones in the Rs.6,000-12,000 segment are the most popular amongst customers:

The latest report from Bloomberg claims that the rationale behind such a decision is to rejuvenate the Indian domestic smartphone industry. OEMs such as Micromax and Lava who were one of the top brands in the nation once were unable to compete with Chinese top dogs such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. These Indian brands have recorded negligible increases in their sales, though this offers a great opportunity for these brands to make a comeback, it is not that good of news for Chinese OEMs who practically thrive because of this segment.

Xiaomi and other Chinese brands have been reliant on India to increase their growth as many cities in China have been in lockdown because of COVID. This has led to lesser people buying new smartphones. A third of the Indian market’s smartphone sales have been under $150 until June 2022. Chinese companies account for 80% of these shipments as per Counterpoint Research.

This decision will be bad for Chinese OEMs but Samsung and Apple will barely be impacted by this move as their devices are mid-range and high-end smartphones.

There has been an official announcement made with respect to this but it still is a matter of mystery if a new policy will be implemented in this regard or if the government will use other ways to enforce its preference on Chinese brands.

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