India may have a new plan to end China’s dominance in budget smartphone segment – Times of India

Indian government may be planning to oust Chinese smartphone companies from the sub-Rs 12,000 market. According to a report in Bloomberg, citing sources, the country “seeks to restrict Chinese smartphone makers from selling devices cheaper than Rs 12,000 ($150) to kick-start its faltering domestic industry”.
The Indian government’s move may come as a body blow to Chinese companies that lead India’s budget smartphone market. The biggest fallout will be on Xiaomi and Realme. The Chinese duo are key players in the low-end smartphone market in India. The move, said the report citing people close to the matter, may push Chinese smartphone makers “out of the lower segment of the world’s second-biggest mobile market”.
The move will also hurt Shenzhen-based Transsion Holdings, which has brands like Tecno, Infinix and Itel. It is also a formidable player in the low-end and affordable segment in the country. Transsion Group brands (itel, Infinix and Tecno) held 12 percent share in India’s handset market in Q2. While itel led the sub-Rs 6,000 smartphone segment with a massive 77 percent share, Tecno captured the second spot in the sub-Rs 8,000 smartphone segment in the country, according to Counterpoint Research.
It will be a huge boost for homegrown brands like Micromax, Lava, Karbonn and others. A power to reckon with in the Indian mobile market till almost 2015; Karbonn, Micromax and Lava lost to Chinese brands post 2015. Samsung too, though not a big player in this segment, is likely to benefit from government’s ‘ban’.
Xiaomi and Realme have captured about 50 percent market share in India in the sub-$150 (Rs 12,000 and below) segment, according to Counterpoint Research.
Crackdown may be similar to those on Chinese apps
If the move turns out to be true, it will be as hard hitting on Chinese smartphone brands as the ban on Chinese apps in 2020. The government ban on 150-plus Chinese apps in June 2020 killed some of the most popular apps including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser, CamScanner, Likee, Baidu, Club Factory and more. These apps were among the most-popular Android apps in their respective categories then. The ban proved a boon for the local app economy and within days several Indian apps including Moj, ShareChat, Josh and others garnered 10 million-plus downloads.
(With agency inputs)