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The government has banned import of CDMA mobile phones that lack unique electronic serial number and mobile equipment identifier, which help authorities identify and track users.
"Import of 'CDMA mobile phones' without Electronic Serial Number (ESN)/Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) or with all zeroes as ESN/MEID is prohibited with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
There are about 100 million CDMA subscribers in India and around 5.8 million users are being added per month, according to the industry. India imports most of the CDMA phones from China and Thailand.
A CDMA operator said that CDMA phones are bundled with operators which do have all the necessary unique numbers but those available in the open market do not carry any ESN and MEID number.