Should India exclude Chinese from the sub-Rs 10K 5G device category?

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. According to technology analytics firm TechArc, which follows market share changes, the share of domestic brands in this price segment fell from 66 per cent in 2015 to just 1 per cent in 2021.