Rumor: India wants to ban Chinese manufacturers from selling cheap phones

India wants to ban Chinese manufacturers such as OPPO, realme and Xiaomi from selling phones for a price below 12,000 rupees, currently about 148 euros. As a result, Indian manufacturers should be given more opportunities in that market segment.

The move would give Indian manufacturers like Lava and Micromax an opportunity to gain market share in the low-cost smartphones market in the country, reports financial news agency Bloomberg based on own sources. The Indian government declined to confirm the move, while Chinese manufacturers declined to comment.

The move to ban Chinese manufacturers from selling cheap phones would be in line with the anti-Chinese measures taken by the Indian government in recent years. TikTok has been banned in the country since mid-2020. PUBG has also been pulled from download stores in India, along with over 150 other apps in total.

In addition, the Indian government suspects, among others, Xiaomi, Vivo and OPPO of tax avoidance. Last week, a deputy minister said that Chinese brands had gained ground in India ‘not on the basis of fair competition’. Before the Chinese brands became big in India, there were many local brands that had a lot of market share.

The market for phones under $148 accounts for about a third of India’s sales, while about 80 percent of that market is held by Chinese brands, analyst firm Counterpoint told Bloomberg.