Page 2 - Mobile Phone

Pak authorities to block sim cards of over half a million tax evaders

Authorities in Pakistan have decided to block the mobile phone SIM cards of over half a million tax defaulters as part of the drive to take action against tax evaders. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in an Income Tax General Order (ITGO) said the mobile SIMs of 506,671 individuals, who failed to file their tax returns for 2023, will stay blocked until restored by the FBR or the Commissioner Inland Revenue having authority over the person. It ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and all telecom providers to immediately implement the Income Tax General Order (ITGO) no 01 of 2024 to block their SIMs and file a compliance report by May 15, Dawn News reported. An official source said the FBR has identified 2.4 million potential taxpayers who did not exist on the tax rolls. Notices were subsequently issued to these individuals. The FBR has selected over 0.5 million individuals out of the 2.4 million for SIM blockade based on one criterion: they must have declared ...

Smartphone makers pin hopes on new launches after tepid March quarter

Slowdown in the decline of 2G subscribers hurting smart phone sales

Retailers threaten to stop sale of OnePlus from May over unaddressed issues

The South India Organised Retailers Association (ORA) on Wednesday threatened to halt the sales of OnePlus products in their establishments from May 1, allegedly due to unresolved concerns with the company. In a letter addressed to Ranjeet Singh, Sales Director of Oneplus Technology India, ORA said that throughout the past year, the retailers' body has encountered significant obstacles associated with selling OnePlus products, which remain unresolved. "Despite our persistent efforts to address these concerns with your company, little progress or resolution has been achieved. Promises made have not been fulfilled, leaving us with no recourse but to take this drastic measure. ORA painfully wishes to inform our collective decision to halt the retail of OnePlus products in our establishments from 1st May, 2024, the body said. OnePlus officials could not be reached immediately for comment. ORA alleged that, among other issues, consistently low profit margins on OnePlus products have ma

PLI for mobiles has choked production growth: Zetwerk's Josh Foulger

It suggested that a PLI 2.0 for mobile phones should be modelled on the revamped PLI for IT hardware so that incentives are linked to value addition to avoid the failures of the first scheme

Strong signals: Mobile phone output tops Rs 4.1 trillion in FY24

Industry experts attribute the increase in the average sale price of a phone to customers' shift towards premiumisation, bolstered by the growing adoption of 5G phones

India's smartphone exports to US jump to $ 3.53 bn in Apr-Dec FY24

India's smartphone exports to the US jumped to USD 3.53 billion in April-December this fiscal against USD 998 million in the same period last year, according to the Commerce Ministry data. The increasing outbound shipments led to an increase in the smarphones' market share to 7.76 per cent during April-December this fiscal from 2 per cent in the same period of last year, the data showed. Increasing exports have made India the third-biggest smartphone exporter to the US. An official said that an increase in overall smartphone production has helped in pushing exports. During the nine-month period of this fiscal, the share of China and Vietnam declined. The US smartphone imports from the top five suppliers also declined during April-December to USD 45.1 billion from USD 49.1 billion in FY'23. China exported USD 35.1 billion worth of smartphones to the US market in April-December, down from USD 38.26 billion last year. Vietnam's shipments of phones declined to USD 5.47 billion in ..

Mobile phone manufacturing jumps 21 times to Rs 4.1 trn in 10 yrs: ICEA

Mobile phone manufacturing in value terms jumped 21-fold to Rs 4.1 lakh crore in India in the last 10 years as government policy measures like PLI played a critical role in attracting global players to boost local production, industry body ICEA said in a statement. India now produces 97 per cent of its total mobile phone demand locally and 30 per cent of the total production in financial year 2024 is meant for export, the India Cellular and Electronics Association said. "Mobile phone production surged from Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 4,10,000 crore in FY'24, registering an increase of 2000 per cent. In 2014-15, mobile phone exports from India were a mere Rs 1,556 crore. The industry expects to end FY24 with an estimated export of Rs 1,20,000 crore. This would mean a 7500 per cent increase in exports over a decade," ICEA said. According to a note on manufacturing, in the field of smartphones, Apple and Samsung, have played a crucial role in boosting mobile phone ...

India to export 30% of its total smartphone production in FY24: ICEA report

The report, which looks at the smartphone production in India from 2014-2024, said that out of all the smartphones sold in India, 97 per cent were made locally within the country

'Mobile exports to grow to $50-60 bn, electronics sector to employ 2.5 mn'

Mobile phone exports from India will grow more than five-fold to USD 50-60 billion in the coming time from about USD 11 billion last year, Union IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. While speaking at a fintech event, the minister said employment in the electronics manufacturing sector will increase from about 10 lakh at present to 25 lakh in the coming days. He said that 10 years ago India imported 98 per cent of mobile phones and at present 99 per cent of the devices are made in India. "(Mobile phones worth) USD 11 billion were exported last year. In the coming days, you will see exports to the tune of USD 50-60 billion. 10 lakh people work in electronics manufacturing. In the coming days, 25 lakh people will work in electronics manufacturing," Vaishnaw said while sharing a presentation on India's growth story. He said India will become the third largest economy by 2027 while it was ranked 11th in 2014. A report published by Jefferies Equity Research

Centre slashes import duty on mobile phone components from 15% to 10%

This comes just a day before the Centre is scheduled to announce its Interim Budget 2024 in Parliament

Our goal is 10% increase in sales within India in 2024: realme founder

Smartphone maker realme expects to increase sales in India by 10 per cent this year as it aspires to be among top five brands globally, the company's founder and CEO Sky Li said on Monday. Li, speaking at the launch of realme 12 Pro Series 5G, said that the company's expectations from India are high this year, with key growth drivers strategically aligned. "As we anticipate a resurgent Indian smartphone market in 2024, fuelled by widespread 5G adoption and a focus on value-centric offerings, our goal is a 10 per cent increase in sales within the Indian market. Despite global economic shifts and inflation, we observe Indian consumers actively seeking enhanced value in smartphone deals, showcasing a keen interest in premiumisation," Li said. According to Counterpoint Research, realme's market share in India grew to 14.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2023 from 13.6 per cent a year ago. The company launched its premium smartphone realme 12 Pro Series 5G in the price range of Rs 25,9

Ashwini Vaishnaw sees case for duty cuts on mobile phone parts: Report

'We have to move from import substitution to export-led growth, that is the transition we need to make. That requires a totally different mindset and a totally different structure,' Vaishnaw said

High import tariffs of mobile device parts offsetting PLI benefits

The high tariffs have also not helped in pushing localisation, an important goal of the government under the scheme where the aim is to reach 40 per cent value addition by FY27

Govt looking to cut import duty on mobile phone components: Report

A decision on the cuts will be taken by the finance ministry when it finalises the budget, the two people said

'Duty cut on mobile phone inputs to boost local production, boost exports'

Import duty cut on mobile phone components can increase domestic production of handsets by 28 per cent to USD 82 billion and boost export, crucial to support indigenous manufacturing, industry body ICEA said on Wednesday. India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said that the next phase of mobile manufacturing growth has to come from exports as the production for the local market is close to saturation. He said India will need to enhance competitiveness in mobile manufacturing at the global level by matching the tariffs or reducing the cost of production with respect to countries like China and Vietnam, where import duty on most of the mobile components is nil or in a lower tax bracket. ICEA, whose members include Apple, Foxconn, Dixon, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Lava etc, has projected that lowering duties on mobile inputs, as recommended by the industry, will enhance local production of mobile phones to USD 82 billion by 2026-27 compared and USD 64

Electronics exports propelled by mobile show sharpest surge in top 10 club

Electronics exports up from sixth to fifth position this financial year

Govt issues warning for some Samsung phones, advises urgent update

Alert states vulnerabilities can allow an attacker to bypass security restrictions and access sensitive info

About 1K mobile tower applications in UP stuck for approval: Industry body

About 1,000 applications to install mobile towers in Uttar Pradesh are stuck for approval, especially in Noida and Ghaziabad, industry body Digital Infrastructure Providers' Association (DIPA) said on Friday. Mobile towers play an important role in enhancing network quality, especially for 5G services requiring higher numbers of towers as compared to 4G network. DIPA said telecom infrastructure providers are facing problems in getting permissions for deploying infrastructure in UP, especially Noida and Ghaziabad. DIPA Director General T R Dua said despite applying on the online portal Nivesh Mitra -- the single window system of the Uttar Pradesh government -- after providing all necessary documents and depositing the application fee, no permission for deployment of telecom infrastructure has been granted. Close to 1,000 applications are pending, where the members have already made non-refundable payments of Rs 1,000 each, amounting to Rs 10 lakh, DIPA said in a statement. DIPA mem

Statsguru: India is one of the world leaders in assembled phones industry

Under the 'Make in India' initiative, the share of domestically assembled phones of the total phone shipments (or sales) rose to 98 per cent in 2022 from 19 per cent in 2014

ED raids 2 ex-Punjab ministers; seizes docs, mobile phones, electronics

"Incriminating" documents, mobile phones, and other electronic devices were seized by the ED after raids against two former Punjab forest ministers and Congress leaders Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sangat Singh Giljian and others as part of an alleged forest scam-linked money laundering probe. The federal probe agency issued a statement on Friday, saying its investigation pertains to charges of "bribery" in the state forest department against the issuance of a permit for tree felling and for transfer/posting in the department, among some other allegations. The raids were conducted on November 30 in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi at the residential premises of Dharamsot, Giljian, their associates, forest officers and some private individuals, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said. Dharamsot (63), has been a five-time MLA and he was arrested earlier this year by the Punjab Vigilance bureau as part of a case linked to alleged possession of disproportionate assets. Giljian has been an MLA from