Inside the plan to restrict China in sub-₹12k handset segment

Telecom industry executives have lined up a slew of suggestions - including mandatory manufacturing joint ventures with local companies and creating a trusted source list - to restrict Chinese smartphone firms from selling handsets in the sub-₹12,000 price band, people familiar with the matter said.

Certain industry executives have created a detailed master plan, a copy of which ET has reviewed, and will submit that to the government in the first week of September, they added.

The recommendations also include leveraging the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and other standards institutions and pushing for exports.


Along with restricting Chinese brands, the executives have called for partnerships with global technology giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta to create an Indian mobile operating system. They have also suggested creating an ecosystem of Indian apps and content services.

The aim is to help homegrown brands regain a significant presence in the Indian smartphone industry by flourishing in a segment considered the belly of the market.

Focus on Exports, JVs
ET reported on August 9 that the government was looking at ways to nudge Chinese smartphone brands like Xiaomi, Transsion Holdings and Realme away from the high-volume sub-' Rs 12,000 price segment. This, a section of the industry believes, would help revive the fortunes of local companies such as Lava and Micromax that were pushed to the sidelines with the entry of capital-rich Chinese smartphone brands in the last seven years.

The government has since clarified it has no plans to ban Chinese players from any price segment.

"The government clarified its stand the very next day the story was published that there are no plans as such," Realme India chief executive Madhav Sheth told ET in a recent interview. The government is focusing on three things: Compliances, the ecosystem to be brought to India, and exports, which Realme is adhering to, he added. "So, we do not find any reason for imposing this."

Some industry executives pushing for the plan said banning companies was never an option.