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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

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

<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

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)

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