Mobile Phone Demand Won't Fall Sharply in India: Industry Body - hernandezidely1937

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While the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to product loss of an estimated over Rs 15,000 crore for the Indian handset manufacturing industry, in that location will atomic number 4 no sharp decline in demand for rangy phones in a mail service-lockdown scenario, predicts industry body Republic of India Multicellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).

The extension of the lockdown leave "obviously" increase the loss for handset manufacturers, simply this period has besides helped people realise the value of mobile phones, said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA.

However, revenues of smartphone makers will continue to take a come to as the government on Billy Sunday decided not to unfold e-commerce channels for the sales of non-essential items like mechanised phones from Monday as earlier announced.

Sales of mobile phones are now expected to resume after the end of the lockdown historical period on May 3.

"These are uncertain times. But IT seems that people will make a beeline for smartphones (after the lockdown) because they byword in the lockdown that one could make an enterprise survive by merely having a smartphone. Education also shifted to smartphones," Mohindroo told IANS in an interaction over phone.

"People realise the corking value of it now. So we do not see demand passing down too very much," he aforementioned.

The demand, ICEA predicts, will stay healthy for incoming storey and premium phones.

"The entry-level smartphones (under Rs 10,000) will be very well positioned. The feature phones bequeath likewise own a really good market because people who do non feature a mobile headphone volition now start purchasing one," Mohindroo said.

Nevertheless, middle-level phones English hawthorn face challenges of demand. What has hyperbolic the woes for the industry is the increase in GST and fall of Sri Lanka rupee against the dollar sign, he said.

Several smartphone manufacturers like Apple, Xiaomi, Realme and Vivo earlier this month announced their determination to increase prices of their devices in India due to the GST hike on mobile phones from 12 per centime to 18 per penny which became applicable from April 1.

According to ICEA, while the global companies will eventually be able to tide over the challenges that they are facing due to the uncertainties brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, information technology could embody far more difficult for the Indian motile phone manufacturers.

"The spheric companies have a fairly large share of the Indian market… Challenges will be very acute for Indian companies Oregon the little manufacturers or component manufacturers," Mohindroo said.

"The biggest concern is the John Cash flow. Down the road, the revenue may not be of normal level. Overheads are there. And if they have to produce with a smaller workforce, IT bequeath be a difficult uncomparable because your plants are configured for a certain capacity of trading operations. So selfsame tough multiplication," he aforementioned.

What is causing a lot of stress to the industry is that the retail stores are not open due to the lockdown, atomic number 2 aforesaid.

However, "make in India" may get a boost in a post-lockdown scenario as "confidence in Nationalist China has away down tremendously" and John R. Major companies would like to shift their manufacturing ground out of China, Mohindroo said.

With 158 million smartphone shipments in 2022, India surpassed the US to become the second-largest smartphone market globally after People's Republic of China, according to Counterpoint Search.