Any reduction in the customs duty on smartphone parts in the forthcoming budget will harm India's developing component ecosystem, discourage investment, increase imports, and make local firms uncompetitive, potentially resulting in job losses, think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. India's smartphone industry is a 'Make in India' success story, with 2023-24 production reaching $49.2 billion and exports at $15.6 billion, making smartphones the fourth-largest export after diesel, aviation fuel, and polished diamonds.
After continuously bleeding subscribers for nearly two years, state-owned telecom services provider BSNL added 2.9 million users in July when its private-sector rivals raised tariffs by nearly 20 per cent. With BSNL keeping tariffs unchanged, many subscribers using entry-level plans shifted from Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), said analysts.
Tata Teleservices along with Samsung recently launched a dual phone called Samsung Duo that supports a CDMA and a GSM SIM connection. Spice, too, has introduced its own rendition with the Spice D88 model that supports both GSM & CDMA connections.
The government has initiated a series of measures, including allowing re-verification at subscribers' doorstep and One Time Password (OTP) based authentication of existing users, to make the entire exercise easier for telecom subscribers.
Parthavi, Vanshika,Hemant win gold, Indian boxers return with 17 medals from U-19 World Championships
Looking for smartphones that will save you the effort of managing two SIMs? Here are some cool options you can consider.
Celkon Mobiles is all set to launch the 7-inch sim-based tablet Celtab (CT2), priced at Rs 7499, based on Android Ice Cream Sandwich Operating System, a month after it forayed into the segment with e-tab CT1.
In a breakthrough in the Lal Chowk terror strike, the police have arrested two people who had allegedly provided SIM cards to two Lashkar-e-Tayiba militants who killed two persons during the 22-hour siege.
The investigating team told rediff.com that they are probing into the similarties between these blasts. However, they have not zeroed down on any organisation as yet. Preliminary reports suggest that nitrate-based chemicals had been stuffed into two metal pipes and placed in the witness box of the JMFC court in Hubli.
Reliance Jio's major subscriber losses continued for the third straight month with 7.96 million users leaving the telecom operator in September, even as the state-owned BSNL stood out as the lone gainer, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed on Thursday. Market leader Jio's subscriber loss has continued since July when the three private telecom operators - Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) - brought in a broad-based hike in tariffs.
The majority of these calls originate from foreign-based gangsters or their associates, using Voice Over Internet Protocol or international phone numbers, they said.
The Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested a BSNL employee for providing SIM cards on fake names to the militants in north Kashmir Sopore town.
Bollywood actor Salman Khan has allegedly received a death threat again along with a demand of Rs 2 crore following which the Mumbai police have registered a first information report (FIR) against an unidentified person, an official on Wednesday.
The Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing are at loggerheads with the Home Ministry for its proposal to allow international roaming for Pakistanis on Indian soil as they believe it will be misused. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The spy Bodh Raj has been accused of passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan.
Nokia Lumia 630 will soon be launched in India.
Seventeen persons, including four hailing from Taiwan, were arrested by Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch for allegedly operating a nationwide 'digital arrest' racket, a Gujarat police official said on Monday.
Sharing the concern of 38 lakh pre-paid mobile phone subscribers hit by the ban on their SIM cards in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said genuine users should not be affected as a small service group did not do proper verification while issuing such cards. Abdullah said he would hold talks with the Centre, including Home Minister P Chidambaram, to resolve the issue as the blanket ban on the use of pre-paid SIM cards is not the answer.
The dual-SIM smartphone will be available in the market from first week of January.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has detected alleged irregularities after it conducted raids in a money laundering case to probe 'black marketing' of tickets for two 'highly anticipated' music concerts by British rock band Coldplay and actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh.
At least 16 people were killed, and 75 injured after the billboard collapsed in an unexpected dust storm in Mumbai on Monday.
Each one of them offers great value for money because of their hardware, display and performance
These are listed on the basis of their current price and has nothing to do with their ranking.
The submission was made before additional sessions judge Hardeep Kaur, who extended the judicial custody of all the six accused till March 1.
Nokia will launch four Lumia smartphones in India starting with its first dual SIM handset Lumia 630 in May for around Rs 10,000 excluding taxes.
The revelation may put the police in a spot of bother considering the fact that the information available with them states that Kaleem had allegedly secured 50 SIM cards.
Handset-maker Motorola Mobility India on Monday launched the country's first Android-powered dual SIM touch screen smartphone, priced at Rs 31,999.
The arrested men have been identified as Abdul Rehman alias Abdul Rahman and Mujibur Rehman alias Mujibur Rahman Altham Sahib, both from Thanjavur district, a statement issued by the NIA said.
Earlier, the Home Ministry had raised concerns over the use of Aadhaar number as a single source of identity verification.
Sim Bhullar has become the first player of Indian descent to play in the high-profile National Basketball Association (NBA) league after making his debut for Sacramento Kings.
A day after taking the competitive medical exam, Meena on May 6 sent a text message to his parents saying that he did not want to study any further and was leaving home for five years, police had said.
The company is offering its own devices under the brand name Lyf along with other brands to employees at a 25 per cent discount.
After producing Darshan and three others before the court, the police stated that they were not making the names of the eyewitnesses public citing their safety.
Bharti Airtel on Monday reported a 168 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,593 crore for the September quarter, and the company unveiled top-level changes, including Gopal Vittal moving into the role of executive vice chairman on January 1, 2026. India's second-largest telco - that competes with Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea in the Indian telecom market - clocked quarterly revenues of Rs 41,473 crore, 12 per cent higher than the year-ago period, aided by strong momentum in India and growth in Africa.
The new rules will be applicable from the second week of November.
The accused had obtained mobile phone SIM cards in fake names and used to take betting amounts from people through QR codes, the official said.
Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas.
Launched just a few days ago, the HTC Desire 210 has received good response from critics and customers thanks to its affordable price and some cool features.
The NIA has charge sheeted Mumbai resident Amaan Salim Shaikh, a key accused in a conspiracy by Pakistani intelligence operatives to honey trap Indian Navy personnel to gather secret information on defence establishments, an official statement said on Friday.
