This is why manufacturing feature phones in the age of smartphones is the best Make-in-India strategy

JIVI Mobiles, one of the largest feature phones brand in India announced an investment of Rs 200 crore for two facilities in India which would be in line with Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India initiative. In the first phase, the facility is opened at Mahipalpur in Delhi which holds a capacity to roll out 7 lakh phones per month and employs some 350 employees.

“The investment would be done in phases and would have a capacity to generate employment for nearly 1000 skilled workers. The purpose is to save on the import duties and hence cut on manufacturing cost by 10-15%,” said Pankaj Anand, CEO of JIVI Mobiles.

In the second phase a facility would be opened in Lonawala, Mumbai to cater to South and West India. The Delhi facility would be fully functional in 2 months, said Gurdeep Singh Suddan, Director of Magicon Impex.

JIVI also launched 7 feature phones today within the range of Rs 699 to Rs 1199 and is also giving free LED bulb of 9W with each phone.

“This initiative too is in line with the Government’s efforts to spread the message of energy efficiency in the country,” said Pankaj.

So the big question is why invest Rs 200 crore on manufacturing feature phones in the age of smartphones.

Pankaj said Make in India can only be successful if each and every citizen is benefited by it. Hence, these phones will cater to rural India and will lead to digital literacy of rural India mainly.

Though at present 70-75% of the parts will come from China initially and will be assembled in India, the company would be manufacturing chargers, handsfree and battery fully in India to cut the cost of duty which is 29.5% currently.

“We have to accept that right now India lacks the skilled labour to manufacture smartphones in India. Hence we are leveraging on feature phones as it is one of the cheapest and stable phones available in the market,” he said.

(Image credits: indiatimes)