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Indian telecom giants <keyword id="15491" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="airtel">Airtel</keyword> and Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="jio">Jio</keyword> have been at loggerheads even before Jio made its super grand entry into the telecom space in India. The two telcos have fought for the top spot to become the number one telecom operator in the country but now it seems like the two are busy fighting it out to gain the position of ‘the most affordable smartphone’ in India. Airtel today announced yet another partnership with smartphone maker <keyword id="1087300" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Celkon">Celkon</keyword> to offer 4G smartphone at Rs. 1349. Reliance Jio had announced its Jio phone earlier this year at a famously “effectively free” price of Rs. 1499 wherein customers will have to pay for the services only for a fixed period of three years. Competing directly with the Jio phone, under Jio’s “India ka smartphone” campaign, Airtel’s partnership is part of ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative where Airtel plans to collaborate with device manufacturers to bring smartphones at the price of a feature phone. Airtel had earlier introduced an <keyword id="6355645" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="android">Android</keyword> smartphone (<keyword id="145729" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karbonn">Karbonn</keyword> A40) in association with Karbonn. The Android touchscreen smartphone with dual SIM functionality came at an effective price of Rs. 1,399. However Reliance Jio seems to have hit bit of a roadblock with Jio phone according to a report by Factor Daily. The Report suggests that Reliance Jio has stopped the production of its VoLTE feature phone and is now planning to launch an Android smartphone. The JioPhone runs KaiOS and came packed with all of Jio’s own apps including JioChat, JioMusic, JioTV, Jio Cinema and others. The OS does not support many of the widely used apps such as <keyword id="6354576" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword>, WhatsApp and others. But this walled garden approach did not really work for Jio as these apps have been extremely popular with the consumers. Airtel on the other hand is clearly specifying that the Airtel smartphones will “offer full access to all apps on <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> Play Store, including <keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword>, Facebook and WhatsApp”, apart from preloaded Airtel apps such as MyAirtel App, Wynk Music and Airtel TV. While both players are ultimately trying to lap up subscribers on their network through their new feature-ish smatphones, they should know that the smartphone market is changing rapidly in India and the consumers are increasingly going for experience more than affordability.

Airtel-Reliance Jio battle heats up yet again but on a whole new battleground

Handsets maker <keyword id="1395988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Celkon-Mobiles">Celkon Mobiles</keyword> today inaugurated its Rs. 200 crore manufacturing facility in Telangana with a vision to increase the unit’s capacity from two lakh handsets per month to five lakh units in the next three months. 
 
 "We will be investing Rs 200 crore in the facility in the first phase. Currently, four production lines are used to produce about two lakh handsets a month," Celkon Mobiles Executive Director <keyword id="1876224" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Murali-Retineni">Murali Retineni</keyword> told. 
 
 
He added that work is going on for eight more production lines, which will be operational in three months, and five lakh handsets will be produced at the facility. 
 
Retineni said going forward, the company plans to shift its entire production to the country. 
 
"As of now, feature phones, entry-level and mid-level smartphones will be produced at the facility but going forward, we plan to produce all phones here," he added. 
 
The manufacturing unit, situated in Medchal, Telangana, is spread across 30,000 sq ft. 
 
Additionally, the facility will also contain a 10,000 sq ft warehouse for raw material and a 5,000 sq ft warehouse for finished products, the company said. 
 
 
Around 60 per cent of the mobile phones manufactured in the facility, which is ISO certified, will comprise of feature phones and the rest will be smartphones. 
 
The unit will employ 500 people consisting of trained and skilled technicians. 
 
"We are elated to be amongst the first few smartphone players starting our manufacturing operations in India. We envision the country to become a hub for manufacturing cutting edge devices and have been pursuing the cause for the last few years," Celkon Mobiles Chairman and Managing Director Y Guru said. 
 
(image credits: olx)

Celkon inaugurates Rs. 200 crore manufacturing facility in Telangana

Celkon has set up its first manufacturing facility in Telangana's Medchal Industrial Estate. This step is predicted to lead to a 7-8% in the Indian brand’s phone prices. 
 
The Rs. 200 Crores worth manufacturing plant will build entry and mid-level price phones initially the company said. 60% of the factory’s produce will essentially be non-smartphones. 
 
 The factory will initially start with four production lines with a capacity to produce 2 lakh units every month. The production lines will be increased to 12 and the production is expected to be around 5 lakh units per month in the next quarter. 
 
The final aim is to touch 10 lakh devices a month, the company added. 
 
( Image credit: Indiatimes)

Celkon launches manufacturing unit in Telangana

<keyword id="2069722" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="TaxiPixi">TaxiPixi</keyword>, an aggregator app that lets users book a radio cab from any of the multiple operators and track the taxi in real time, has raised an undisclosed amount in <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> from <keyword id="1395988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Celkon-Mobiles">Celkon Mobiles</keyword>, a Hyderabad-based firm specialising in mobile phone solutions and wireless technologies. Celkon has invested in the Delhi-based start-up <keyword id="2069723" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="On-Time-Technologies-Pvt-Ltd">On Time Technologies Pvt Ltd</keyword>, the company behind TaxiPixi. Launched in May 2013, it is India’s first-ever multi-operator <keyword id="2069724" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cab-booking-app">cab booking app</keyword> and currently covers as many as 10 Indian cities. The <keyword id="6355645" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="android">Android</keyword> version of the app (requires Android 2.2 and up) can be <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.taxipixi.taxiexchange&amp;hl=en">downloaded</a> for free from <keyword id="6369511" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google-Play-Store">Google Play Store</keyword>. Last we checked, its rating was 4.1 while download numbers are nearly 50,000, according to the company. TaxiPixi has also launched an <keyword id="75489" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IOS">iOS</keyword> version in December last year and you can <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/taxipixi/id781567726?mt=8">download</a> it for free from <keyword id="95161" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="itunes">iTunes</keyword>. 
 As part of the deal, Celkon will pre-embed TaxiPixi application in all its compatible smartphones selling in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and <keyword id="6355117" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="South-Africa">South Africa</keyword>. The company will also promote the app to its existing consumers through Celkon app store and website. “With this funding, we have started diversifying our business and exploring new opportunities in the mobile application segment,” said <keyword id="2069742" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Pradeep-Yerraguntla">Pradeep Yerraguntla</keyword>, <keyword id="2069743" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="head-of-digital-business-at-Celkon">head of digital business at Celkon</keyword>. 
 Although the amount raised by the start-up has not been disclosed, TaxiPixi <keyword id="192769" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="co-founder-and-CEO">co-founder and CEO</keyword> <keyword id="1963686" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kajal-Dubey">Kajal Dubey</keyword> has told Business Insider India the money would be utilised to extend its operations across tier II and tier III cities. The company will also expand its services to <keyword id="8695" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Malaysia">Malaysia</keyword> and users hailing from <keyword id="6372507" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kuala-Lumpur">Kuala Lumpur</keyword> can start using the app from mid-March this year. 
 
“Our aim is to leverage Celkon’s innovative products to build engagement with young consumers as they enjoy experimenting with exciting technology products like TaxiPixi, which ensures convenience, comfort and great user experience. With this deal, we are aiming to add up to 100K users every month through Celkon,” says Kajal. 
 So how does this app work and how do you benefit? Unlike other cab booking apps, this one allows users to send cab booking requests directly to the <keyword id="6366401" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Driver">driver</keyword>s of several radio taxi companies. New operators are added to the TaxiPixi platform only after a thorough verification of documents, permits and licences of each cab and driver. However, this essentially means you can contact not just one driver/operator but several, at one go, and your request reaches them in just 15 seconds. All you need to do is provide the pick-up address and destination (you can do it using the map or simply type it in) and specify the pick-up time and the type of cab. 
 TaxiPixi offers three different types of cabs – <keyword id="2069749" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Economy-radio-taxi">economy radio taxi</keyword>, <keyword id="2069754" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sedan-taxi">sedan taxi</keyword> and <keyword id="2069755" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sedan-radio-taxi">sedan radio taxi</keyword> – and charges a fixed fee per booking. Users get instant confirmation as soon as requests are accepted or get a notification within 15 minutes, suggesting further upgrades in terms of booking to ensure confirmation. You can book your cab for point-to-point commute and opt for an <keyword id="2069757" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hourly-package">hourly package</keyword>. One can also track the cab in real time as it approaches you or cancel the booking with a single tap. 
 In a bid to expand further and leverage the technology platform even better, the company may soon start an <keyword id="2069759" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Auto-rickshaw-booking-service">auto rickshaw booking service</keyword> on similar lines, according to Kajal. “There will be more challenges, of course, when autos come on board as it is with cab booking now. You need both technology and scale to succeed in this business, and that’s what we are focusing on,” she sums up.

Real-time Tracking & Cab Booking App TaxiPixi
Raises Funding

Google showcased the <keyword id="6355645" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="android">Android</keyword> One operating system for budget smartphones today in India and who better to partner with than MediaTek, to take the brand to emerging mobile markets. MediaTek has announced that they will be working together with Google with the aim to reach the next Billion smartphone users. 
 Android is the single largest smartphone operating system in developing countries. Mediatek is famous for building world class low to mid-end chipset for mobiles. This marriage should be fruitful for mobile manufacturers like Micromax, Karbonn and <keyword id="1087300" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Celkon">Celkon</keyword>, who can take advantage of the chipset and operating system environment to further increase their reach in tier 2 and tier 3 towns of India. 
 
“MediaTek has long been an advocate of providing high-quality devices at reasonable prices, and our all-inclusive product road map stands as a strong proof point of that commitment,” said Mohit Bhushan, Vice President of U.S. Business Development at MediaTek. 
 “Google is pleased to partner with MediaTek on the Android One initiative. MediaTek has the expertise to provide what is needed for Android One devices and insights into the needs of consumers in emerging markets,” said <keyword id="1942183" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Caesar-Sengupta">Caesar Sengupta</keyword>, VP of Product Management at Google. 
 
The first lot of Android One devices are already on the MediaTek chips. The MT6582 takes advantage of the new Google operating environment and can provide the customers a pleasant experience using the ARM Cortex A7 CPU installed on this mobile motherboard. Micromax, Karbonn and Spice mobiles are already using this chipset in the first series of their Android One smartphones and are already up for grabs.

MediaTek Partners With Google Android One To Provide
Affordable Smartphones In Developing Markets

Next time when you <keyword id="4681774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="convert-text-to-speech">convert text to speech</keyword> in an Indian language on <keyword id="3212715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indus-OS">Indus OS</keyword> based smartphone, don’t forget to thanks <keyword id="4680767" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hema-Murthy">Hema Murthy</keyword>. Meet Hema Murthy who made this conversion possible on a smartphone and this is a result of 15 years of hardwork. Indus OS collaborated with Department of Electronics and IT in 2015 and worked with Murthy, who spent her mornings to make text to speech synthesis possible for 8 Indian languages. ET reported Rakesh Deshmukh, CEO, Indus OS was in the search of a similar speech platform which would further enhance the localized operating system. Their partnership resulted in a product called <keyword id="4681773" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="indus-reader">Indus Reader</keyword>, which is used in smartphones manufactured by Micromax, Celkon, Karbonn and Swipe among others. Professor Murthy, a PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Madras, has been interested in speech processing and synthesis and this belief helped her develop TTS in Indian languages using open source platform. "Considering the vast variety of Indian languages and how each language is different from one another, I thought why not have devices or platforms which can translate English text to speech in any Indian language,” she told ET. "Indo-Aryan class of languages shares certain distinct common features. A lot of speech sounds have been borrowed from each language. So we developed a common phone set to work on," said Murthy. But, majority of the people are not aware of the research. After signing the MOU, Indus OS made the necessary changes on the platform for the Indian user. "Indus OS team has a long-term vision of taking Indian languages through the mobile platform in rural areas. This was really an opportunity to mass-proliferate the TDIL developed technologies," says Lata. (Image: Economic Times)

Meet Hema Murthy who is converting text to speech in Indian languages on your smartphone

It is not everyday that two A-list celebrities come together. In the last two years, this rare occurrence has happened at least thrice, bringing to the fore a class of power couples. And, their combined brand value can top the charts. Earlier too, legendary Bollywood actors Amitabh and Jaya Bacchan came together for endorsing <keyword id="413856" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalyan-Jewellers">Kalyan Jewellers</keyword> Mudhra collection as parents to a would-be bride. Though Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan also did a few ads like D'decor together, experts believe the real moolah lies in the paired reigning superstars. The latest entrant into this short and exclusive club are Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, who are also coming together for a soon-to-be released movie. Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor 
 
 
 
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 Hitting the nail before they turn a married couple, e-commerce giant Flipkart roped Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor for a national campaign. They play the role of a couple too where Alia is seen commenting on Ranbir’s clothing style. Alia who is high on successes like Raazi and Gully Boy makes more from brand endorsements, as compared to Ranbir who had a spate of flops before the release of Sanju this year. The 26-year-old actor, Alia Bhatt has collaborated with some of the best brands in India and is the first celeb to promote Uber Eats, Nokia and Make My Trip. She reportedly <a href="https://www.marketingmind.in/reasons-why-alia-bhatt-has-become-popular-in-brand-endorsements/">has a brand value </a> of $98,10,700. Ranbir Kapoor reported has a brand value of ₹1.39 billion, according to Duff and Phelps' Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2018. But together, both their fortunes could change and so will that of the brands they would be a part of. Together they have an estimated brand value of ₹2.77 billion Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh 
 
 
 
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 The star couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have around 40 brands together in their kitty. And some of them are competitors. For instance, Ranveer Singh endorses Make My Trip while Deepika promotes GoIbibo. But electronics brand Lloyd also brought them together to do what they do best--as newlyweds to endorse the company’s household electronics like air conditioners, LED TVs among others. According to a report by ESP properties, “Their successive blockbusters and the buzz around their wedding for months before the event, was enough to earn them a spot in the top 3 brand favorite stars of the year.” Ranveer Singh earns over ₹840 million from more than 20 brand he endorses. He charges between ₹30-40 million to ₹40 million per advertisement. Ranveer Singh earned ₹626 millions alone in 2017 from brand endorsement, said Forbes list of 100 celebrities for 2017. Deepika Padukone is the top earner in brand endorsements amongst actresses. She promotes 18 brands and earns ₹750 million. The brand <keyword id="3056668" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="deepveer">DeepVeer</keyword> has an estimated value of ₹1.59 billion. Anushka Sharma and <keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="_eccb0bfa-ec88-11e8-b312-d5ded9c11306" msid="69660095" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;A still from Manyavar ad&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>









 The trendsetters in the latest category however remain Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian cricket team, and his actor wife Anushka Sharma. And without they have more than one ‘couple’ endorsement. Both of them together<a href="https://www.livemint.com/industry/media/myntra-appoints-virat-kohli-anushka-sharma-as-first-brand-ambassadors-1556879575460.html"> reportedly have a brand value of $200 million</a> with 40 brands in their kitty like Head and Shoulders, Pepsi, Celkon, Boost, Audi, Fastrack, Nivea, Puma, American Tourister and Uber. The two have also been featured together in a clothing brand advertisement, Manyawar, for which they did a sequel after their marriage. In fact, it was an ad shoot that brought this couple together as they met in 2013 while shooting for Head and Shoulders. They recently shot an ad for Google Duo where Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli show their goofy relationship. “In 2017, #Virushka was evidently the year’s Power Couple.Colgate skillfully leveraged the fandom of both the stars separately this year.” said the ESP Properties report. Virat Kohli is the star of the brand endorsement <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/advertising/virat-kohli-tops-powerful-celebrity-brands-list-with-a-brand-value-of-170-9-million/articleshow/67469396.cms">as he was listed</a> as the most powerful celebrity brand in the list of Duff &amp; Phelps at the brand valuation of $170.9 million. Virat Kohli is also the first Indian sportsperson to sign a deal worth ₹10 billion with Puma. Kohli signed the eight-year deal with the lifestyle brand last year.

DeepVeer, Virushka and now Alia-Ranbir are power ‘couple brand ambassadors’

A few years back, there were over 500 smartphone brands in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/small-business/tech/Chinese-smartphones-are-catching-up-to-Apple-and-Samsung/articleshow/55484404.cms">Chinese mobile phone market</a>, which reduced to 100 last year, with several smartphone makers shutting down their businesses because of fierce competition, low profits and unsettled debt. 
 
India is the second largest mobile handset market after China, and is going to witness something similar. Worth $15 billion, it already has around 100 brands, that cater to the market selling some 220 million units of smartphone and feature phones per year. 
 
Even though several brands have shut down, several others are getting ready to enter the market, including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/watch-out-xiaomi-oppo-salman-khan-is-venturing-into-smartphone-business-with-beingsmart/articleshow/57551174.cms">BeingSmart</a>, backed by Bollywood actor Salman Khan. In addition, one-time leader <keyword id="6354716" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nokia">Nokia</keyword> is also ready to make a comeback. 
 
Brands like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/with-85-of-its-staff-gone-leeco-might-soon-exit-india/articleshow/57445642.cms">LeEco</a>, Miezu and Celkon have already withheld or withdrew their operations from India, giving in to the tough competition from brands like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/major-boost-to-make-in-india-gionee-set-to-manufatcure-all-its-phones-here/articleshow/57771111.cms">Gionee</a>, <keyword id="874458" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Xiaomi">Xiaomi</keyword>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/oppo-mobiles-becomes-the-new-sponsor-of-men-in-blue/articleshow/57518520.cms">Oppo</a> and <keyword id="215177" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vivo">Vivo</keyword>. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/xiaomi-brings-in-the-redmi-4a-at-rs-5999/articleshow/57732314.cms">Xiaomi brings in the Redmi 4A at Rs 5999</a> 
 
Brands that were leading the market once, like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/micromax-to-launch-cheap-4g-volte-feature-phones/articleshow/57665718.cms">Micromax</a>, have been sidelined as well. 
 
As per industry experts, there are 200 companies in India, with 40-50 having a pan-India presence and the rest being local players. Manu Jain, managing director, Xiaomi India, said, "About eight years ago, the China smartphone market was similar to where India is now. The Chinese market has consolidated, with the top 6-7 players accounting for an 80% share. In India too, there will be consolidation." 
 
This would require outright exits from several brands as well as mergers and acquisitions amongst others, which would be decided by the key players in the country. With several brands offering only smartphones and not feature phones despite India being world’s largest market for feature phone, it remains to be seen which trend is going to adjust itself to suit the market. 
 
(Image source: Computer Weekly)

How much more brands can India’s handset market absorb?

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mobile+phone">Mobile phone</a> companies are expected to invest Rs 650 Crores by March and the production of handsets in value terms is expected to cross Rs 40,000 crore by the end of current fiscal, Parliament was informed today. 
 
"The total investment made by companies during the past 7-8 months are estimated to be in the range of Rs 250-300 Crore which is likely to increase to Rs 600-650 crore by the end of 2015-16," Telecom Minister <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ravi+Shankar+Prasad">Ravi Shankar Prasad</a> said in a written reply in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Lok+Sabha">Lok Sabha</a>. 
 
He was replying to a question on mobile phones production in the country. 
 
"As per the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Indian+Cellular+Associations">Indian Cellular Associations</a>, the production of mobile phones in India during current financial year is expected to cross Rs 40,000 crore compared to the production of Rs 18,900 crore during 2014-15," Prasad said. 
 "The differential duty for mobile handset manufacturing is being termed as a game changer by the industry and consequent to this various <keyword id="18312" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mobile-phone">mobile phone</keyword> manufacturing companies like Foxconn, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Xiaomi">Xiaomi</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Micromax">Micromax</a>, Celkon and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Karbonn">Karbonn</a> have committed to mobile phone manufacturing in the country," Prasad said. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Phone companies may invest Rs 650 Crores by
March: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Last year Celkon was in talks with the <keyword id="37102" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Andhra-Pradesh">Andhra Pradesh</keyword> government in India to set up a <keyword id="6354485" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="mobile">mobile</keyword> plant in the state. This came across as good news for Indian manufacturing units, as it could spark a gadget <keyword id="22637" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="production">production</keyword> revolution. However, soon the reports died down and there was no update on whether the Indian company will produce mobile phones here. 
 Now, the news of <keyword id="71696" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Micromax">Micromax</keyword> manufacturing Mobiles at their Rudrapur Plant in Uttrakhand can be seen as the spark that will put life into the Indian electronics production industry. The buzz is that Micromax is manufacturing phones within India, but the reports are still unclear on what category of phones will be produced. Nevertheless, this is good news. As more Indian players will be able to set up shop within the country and give a boost to the Indian manufacturing. 
 
Why is it good? According to a report released by Indian ministry of health and family welfare in 2012, India with over a billion people is the second largest mobile phone user <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> in the world. There are several Indian mobile makers in the country such as: Micromax, Lava, Karbonn, Spice and Celkon. All of them manufacture their respective mobile phones in China and bring them to India. 
 
If the Indian players start to make phones within India: 
· Companies will save a lot on the transportation costs. 
· Will create more employment within the country. 
· Money that is spent stays within the country. · Indian <keyword id="6354775" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Smartphones">smartphones</keyword> will get cheaper. 
· The companies can keep a strong check on the mobile phone’s quality. 
 
This is just the tip of the iceberg. The economy could thrive if such manufacturing plants come up. They can help the economy grow four-folds and one can also foresee international brands setting up plants within India. 
 
Like China, labour in India is very cheap. More Indian players can emerge and start producing top-quality phones for the world in or around the same costs they are being produced in Chinese factories. 
 
But sadly there are some challenges that the entrepreneurs would face. The infrastructure in the country is limited. India is still in the developing stages and is looking to break the barrier soon. There have been numerous questions and fingers, pointed at India’s manufacturing neighbours by global industry that has put a dent in their ability to mass produce. The Apple and <keyword id="6354671" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Foxconn">Foxconn</keyword> mishap was one such incident. 
 
This is an opportunity for India. Our nation can quickly step up and take manufacturing responsibility (for multinationals too). The Indian government needs to support the cause well and help with easier loans and flexible manufacturing policies. This will enable the Indian mobile manufacturing to quickly set up and start off. 
 
According to an IDC report, Micromax and Karbonn constitutes to over 35% of the total mobiles sold in India. All of which is being produced in China. If the Indian government quickly helps the Indian mobile phone giants with the right instruments, then all of the produce can be managed within the country. 
 
What else can be produced besides mobiles? 
The Indian electronics manufacturing should not be limited to just mobiles. Tablets, laptops and TV production should also be explored. If the first steps take off well, then one can see an explosion. Production of wearable gadgets can also be looked at. This is the new gadget sector, which most global technology firms have their eyes set upon. 
 
Coming back to it, Micromax has made the right move to produce phones in India. Till now only the research and development phase was happening here and the major chunk of the manufacturing was happening in other countries. Other mobile companies should follow suit and think about setting manufacturing units here, which should help them and the country grow at a faster pace. 
 
Image: Thinkstock

Here’s Why It Makes Good Business Sense For Indian Mobile
Companies To Manufacture Phones In India, Just Like Micromax Is Trying To Do

If there’s one person who took Modi’s ‘<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Make+in+India">Make in India’</a> plans with great enthusiasm, its certainly Chandrababu Naidu. 
 
After it got separated from Telengana, people thought Andhra Pradesh is lost in the doom. But Naidu, the chief minister of the state has surely included some magic in his state. Having shone in the high beam of technical progress during India’s boom in IT, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=andhra+pradesh">Andhra Pradesh is now emerging</a> as India’s hottest mobile manufacturing hub in the country. 
 
India's top home-bred mobile handset makers Micromax, Karbonn and Celkon have agreed to invest a total of Rs 750 crore in setting up manufacturing facilities at the hardware hub being developed by the state government near temple town Tirupati. 
 
These 3 companies have signed agreements with the state government recently to set up their units at the industrial park coming up near Renigunta airport on the outskirts of Tirupati. 
Earlier, Taiwan-headquartered <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=foxconn">Foxconn</a>, the world's largest contract mobile handset maker, decided to set up a manufacturing plant in the state. The state government is in talks with more mobile handset and component makers, including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Lava">Lava</a> and Intex, and is looking at creating an ecosystem, said Karthikeya Misra, industries' director of Andhra Pradesh. 
 
"We have formulated one of the most attractive industrial policies with special incentives pertaining to VAT (value-added tax) exemption to attract electronic hardware and components manufacturers," Misra told The Economic Times. 
 
 
Misra said the state government was looking at facilitating mobile handset makers to produce largest number of units from Andhra Pradesh, at least 7 million handsets a month from Foxconn's facility at Sri City and the three mobile manufacturers at Tirupati cluster by end of 2016. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Micromax">Micromax</a>'s co-founder Rajesh Agarwal said the proposed unit at Tirupati will be its third manufacturing facility in India after Uttarakhand and the one coming up on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The company is looking to produce handsets, tablets, LED TVs and computer monitors from the Tirupati facility. 
 
Chandrababu Naidu told the press, the long-term target was to attract at least 30 mobile and electronic gadget manufacturers to southern Andhra region for creating a large electronics hardware ecosystem. The country's import cost of electronic gadgets was surpassing the oil import bill and encouraging local manufacturing will help the country save huge foreign exchange, he said. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Andhra Pradesh is soon becoming the hottest mobile manufacturing hub

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 Today, there are more than 80 million active BBM users across BlackBerry, Android and iPhone. Additionally, BBM also comes pre-loaded on more than a dozen Android OEMs, including most recently <keyword id="6356116" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="LG">LG</keyword>, Micromax, Celkon, Spice and Zen to name a few. 
 
· Is Blackberry planning to monetize the messenger solution on iOS and Android. If so, in what manner? 
We are exploring a number of revenue streams for BBM. Right now our focus is on growing the number of monthly active users of BBM and exploring strategies that help us leverage the strength of BBM such as our passionate user base, our high levels of engagement, our focus on relevant content, relevant conversations and community building. 
 
· What are the next steps in the evolution of BBM and allied services? 
BBM continues to evolve as a social mobile platform for consumers as well as for business customers through innovative features offering simplified ways to connect and share with others. In Feb 2014, we launched an upgrade of BBM for the Android and iOS users adding some new and exciting features enclosed below: 
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Emoticons: BBM now has more than 100 new emoticons which have been added to the existing set of emoticons. It is worth noting that a number of the new emoticons have been developed based on user recommendation. 
FindFriends: BBM now includes a new find friends feature that allows you to discover people you know that are already on BBM, allowing invites from within the BBM app. The find friends feature detects contacts in your smartphone contact list that use BBM and allows you to quickly send an invitation on BBM. 
Going forward we would continue to deliver new functionality to BBM across platforms providing users a simple and effective way to stay connected. 
 
· How is the BBM for desktop program coming along? 
We are continuously working towards enhancing the BBM experience for our consumers. We will keep you posted. 
 
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With a total base of 80 million users, BBM is one of the largest private social mobile networks, driving real, active conversations. We at BlackBerry will continue to work towards providing our consumers with innovative features that will enable them to connect and share with each other.

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