Lack of IMEI controls doubles the import of Chinese mobiles in India
A recent report by the Indian Cellular Association (ICA) has revealed that imports of unbranded Chinese made mobile phones into India nearly doubled in 2010, despite a ban on most imports due to lack of IMEI controls. During the year, imports reached 38 million, an increase from 20 million in 2009, and then 5.5 million in 2007.
According to the report, although mobile phone manufacturing has increased by leaps and bounds as compared to zero production a couple of years ago, the industry continues to face challenges from the huge unbridled influx of the substandard, unbranded Chinese phones into India. Even today, approximately 3 – 3.5 million substandard mobile phones are imported into India each month.
To race against the lower-cost Chinese imports, Indian manufacturers have been lobbying for tax breaks, and lower taxes on handset sales.
Indian Cellular Association added that manufacturing involves huge investments and skilled manpower but there are no tax benefits for the industry, except for the SEZs. Tax holidays, available to other key sectors such as infrastructure and power, should also be available to mobile phone manufacturing to be globally competitive. The industry is labor-intensive and has a good multiplier effect in terms of consumer welfare gains, specially education and efficiency of time.
The government banned the sale of handsets without a locked IMEI serial number following several terrorist attacks that were harder to trace due to the lack of serial numbers in the phones used by the suspects. The majority of phones lacking an IMEI had come from China.
Man killed when cell phone exploded on his face
Gopal Gujjar, 23, was found dead with burns to his left ear, neck and shoulders, near a farm in Bandha village close to the city of Kota of Rajasthan.
According to reports police believe that the young man was killed when his Nokia handset exploded whilst he was talking on it. There were no witnesses to the incident.
Police found pieces of the Nokia 1209 handset, a basic model released in August 2008, scattered nearby.
Earlier this year, a 27 year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh was killed while using a Chinese-made mobile while it was on charging.
Deaths caused by exploding mobile phones have been reported not only in India but in countries like China, Nepal and Ghana. One of China’s higher profile incidents occurred in 2007, when a mobile phone’s battery exploded in an iron plant worker’s shirt pocket, allegedly as a result of over-exposure to extreme summer heat. The explosion caused one of the man’s ribs to pierce his heart and was marked dead leading arrival at the hospital.
Considering the billions of Handsets constantly in use the probability of being involved in such an accident are very feeble for any individual. In fact analysts estimate that an individual stand more chance of suffering a natural disaster like lightning strike, earthquake etc. & man made like a stabbing, car/plane/train crash and nonetheless a terror attack or nuclear warfare.
