Annual handset demand to touch 350 million: Report

NEW DELHI: The Indian mobile devices market will continue its robust growth to reach 350 million a year by 2020, projects a joint study by industry association Ficci and Ernst & Young. At present, handset companies sell about 150 million mobile phones annually in the country. While smartphones will lead the Indian growth story, people will spend more on buying cell phones as the average selling price of handsets is likely to go up to Rs 2,950 by 2020 compared to Rs 2,300 in 2010, the report added.

According to this study, rural market will provide the next phase of growth for handset players. It further states that about 500 million handsets will be manufactured in India by 2020. But this will be possible only if the country were to create a manufacturing ecosystem to produce handsets, it added.