The government is likely to extend fiscal incentives for production of toys, bicycles and leather and footwear in the forthcoming budget as it looks to expand production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to cover more high-employment potential sectors, sources said. The government has already rolled out the scheme with an outlay of about Rs 2 lakh crore for as many as 14 sectors, including automobiles and auto components, white goods, pharma, textiles, food products, high efficiency solar PV modules, advance chemistry cell and speciality steel. The scheme aims to make domestic manufacturing globally competitive and create global champions in manufacturing, and it is yielding solid results, sources said.

Home-grown companies, including electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firm Dixon Technologies and mobile device maker Lava International, have started exploratory talks with Chinese sub-assemblies and component players for setting up joint ventures (JVs) in the country. Sources in the industry say many domestic companies have also had preliminary discussions with original design manufacturers (ODMs) in China to look at a JV model for manufacturing smartphones. Key ODM players in mobile devices in China include Longcheer, Huaqin, and Wingtech, which has already set up a plant in Tirupati.

How dominant are Chinese firms in India's sub-Rs 10,000 mobile device market? The question has become relevant as the government has been thinking of reserving this price segment for domestic players who have not been able to battle the Chinese onslaught. However, telecom firms and others are concerned that such a move could stymie the effort to build affordable 5G phones in the sub-Rs 10,000 category.

The government is busy strategising ways to revive the domestic mobile device industry as Chinese firms have grabbed a large chunk of the handset market. The idea is to minimise competition from Chinese mobile players in the entry level or sub-Rs 10,000 category, according to a senior government official familiar with the plans. While discussions on the strategy are on, there's a growing consensus within the government that the lower end of the market should be reserved only for the domestic players, the official said.

The onslaught of Chinese mobile brands is virtually obliterating Indian brands, especially in terms of value. According to industry estimates based on excise and Custom duty trends, the value share of Indian brands (across smartphones and feature phones, operator phone sales - which is mostly Jio phones - and the value of phones smuggled into the country) has dropped to a mere 1.2 per cent in January-October 2021 compared to 25.4 per cent in the calendar year 2015. In the same period, the Chinese have established their domination, hitting a value share of 64.5 per cent, up from 17.8 per cent.

When it comes to performance and affordability, how do these Indian headphones fare when compared popular international brands like JBL and Sennheiser?

The government on Monday extended the period of production-linked incentive scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing with a focus on mobile phones by a year until 2025-26. The base year of the scheme 2019-20 remains the same but the companies will have the option to choose their five-year period either from the base year or the year 2020-21 for calculation of the incentives under the scheme. "Now we have extended the tenure of the scheme from 2020-21 to 2025-26. "Earlier, it would have ended in 2024-25.

According to research firm IDC, a slowdown in smartphone shipments began showing up as early as late February, though companies insist that the March quarter was fine, albeit on a low base.

In a communication to the empowered committee on PLI recently, the Indian Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) has stated that except one player (Samsung), all the other eight players (which include vendors of Apple Inc) selected under the scheme were facing numerous challenges in fulfilling the qualification criteria.

With its new line-up, the firm has managed to touch the right chords, but to regain market share from the established players, Micromax will have to fight a protracted battle.

At least two of them - Lava and Micromax - are arming themselves against the Chinese rivals which made them insignificant in the local market over the past few years.

The content discovery platform designed to help you discover content and services in the language of your choice recently turned profitable. It has delivered 1 billion application installs and updates in the past 12 months, says Samreen Ahmad.

Chinese mobile brands are deeply entrenched in the Indian market. A move to bar them may send a bold diplomatic message. But its cost for the local industry is anybody's guess. In the event that Chinese brands face curbs, two handset makers - Samsung and Apple - squarely stand to gain.

The government gave clearance to five global and five Indian players that have made a commitment to a production value of 12.5-trillion phones in five years under the Production Linked Incentive scheme.

The US tech major is planning to begin local production of its upcoming iPhone 12 by next April - within six months of its launch.

'Indian entrepreneurs became traders for Chinese goods rather than producers of goods.'

How Bajaj, Colgate, Raymonds, Zee lost out.. Strategic errors have hurt many companies, says adguru Sandeep Goyal.

A number of smartphone players such as Xiaomi, Samsung, LG and Micromax also have smart TVs in their product portfolio.

Its overall picture quality is nowhere close to what Samsung, Sony or even Lloyd 4K TVs offer, says Veer Arjun Singh.

'The Chinese outdid them in the price game and turned the competitive dynamics at the lower end of the handset market from price to value.'

It has captured 38 per cent of the feature phone segment in 2018 through frequent innovation, says Arnab Dutta.

According to analysts, most of the growth in the smartphone space will come from existing users, who will be lured to upgrade their handsets as new features and technologies turn existing features redundant, says Arnab Dutta.

Sukanya Verma takes us down beautiful bridal history.

Asin shares her daughter's pictures on her first birthday!

But this could be shortlived as the rise has been buoyed on Chhattisgarh assembly poll freebies

The TV has a slim LED screen that offers good viewing angles. It is fit to be mounted on the wall or placed on its feet in a spacious bedroom, says Veer Arjun Singh.

French hacker Elliot Alderson had earlier pointed out UIDAI helpline (1800-300-1947) could just be "the tip of the iceberg", hinting there could be additional data or trackers on Indian phone manufacturers' devices.

FIFA World Cup revs up television sales in India

The revival of feature phones in India is driven by low-cost access to the internet, but the 'dumb phones' are learning to get smart and create a niche, says Veer Arjun Singh.

Nokia has managed to enter the top-five list in the feature phone market within six months of its comeback

Comparing the budget smartphones from Micromax and Xiaomi.

Trends like bundled offers and 4G-LTE feature phones could become mainstream in 2018

The once-popular brand plans to try its luck in the smartphone market with reliability as its key proposition.

With slower than expected growth in smartphone penetration, operators and OEMs are joining hands to provide affordable mobile devices with attractive offers.

With 8.5 per cent market share in the quarter ended September 2017, Nokia makes it to the top four bestselling feature phones in India.

Asin and Rahul Sharma welcome their first child!

The incumbent operators faced the onslaught of free offers and cheaper rates from Jio.

At Rs 8,999, this 'Made in India' budget smartphone competes with Chinese rivals Xiaomi Redmi 4, Nubia N1 Lite and Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. But can it win Micromax the lost ground?

Large-screen device focused on imaging, battery and multimedia fails to match peers in price segment, says Khalid Anzar.

The five key components, which are indispensable for any smartphone, cost more than Rs 2,000 even for a budget 3G-enabled 3.5-inch handset.