Explore Business Standard
Mobile
Apple's supplies in India grew by 21.5 per cent annually to 5.9 million units in the first half of 2025 with iPhone 16 being the highest-shipped model across the country during the period, market research firm IDC said on Monday. According to International Data Corporation's (IDC) worldwide quarterly mobile phone tracker, India's smartphone market shipped 70 million smartphones in the first half of 2025, with a 0.9 per cent growth YoY (year-over-year) and the second quarter of the year registered a growth of 7.3 per cent YoY, shipping 37 million smartphones. The overall smartphone shipment growth was mitigated by a dip in supplies of Chinese companies -- OnePlus, Poco, Xiaomi and Realme, according to the report. "Apple maintained its strong performance, with shipments growing 21.5 per cent YoY to 5.9 million units in the first half of 2025. The iPhone 16 was the highest-shipped model across India in the first half of 2025, making up 4 per cent of overall India shipments during that
Bharti Airtel sees an opportunity in raising tariffs for data services as it feels that the rich are paying less and the poor are not required to pay anymore, a senior official of the company said. A customer needs to pay Rs 199 for a month-long connection which comes with unlimited local, STD, roaming calls and a 2GB data limit. By paying Rs 100 more, a subscriber on Airtel can get 1 GB data per day and it goes up to 3 GB data per day with plans starting from Rs 449 onwards. "The architecture of pricing in India is quite skewed. At the entry level itself or just above the entry level, you get so much data allowance, calling and messaging, that you really don't have any reason to upgrade. It's just an unfortunate situation where people who can afford to pay, the rich, are paying less and the poor, you know, we don't need to charge the poor anymore," Bharti Airtel Vice-Chairman and MD, Gopal Vittal said. He was replying to a question on tariffs during the company's earnings call for
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday revised its guidelines on the use of shared mobile numbers and e-mail addresses by stock brokers for investor alerts with an aim to enhance operational convenience. The updated rules, effective immediately, aim to strike a balance between regulatory compliance and operational flexibility for brokers. Under the revised framework, Sebi said, the stock brokers can upload a common mobile number or e-mail address for multiple clients under certain conditions. The exception applies to clients belonging to the same family, defined as self, spouse, dependent children, and parents, or for specific non-individual clients such as Hindu Undivide Family (HUF), corporates, partnerships, or trusts. In the case of non-individual clients, the shared contact details can only be uploaded if the client is an authorised person. For example, a Karta in HUFs, a partner in a partnership firm, a trustee or beneficiary in a trust, or a corporate board-authorised ...
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has shown interest in mobile irradiators developed by India which can be used to prolong the shelf-life of food products, a top official said on Tuesday. An India-made mobile irradiator was demonstrated at the IAEA office in Vienna last month, said Department of Atomic Energy secretary A K Mohanty at an event here. "The IAEA is interested. If India or BRIT (Board for Radiation and Isotope Technology, a wing under the DAE) can make more (mobile irradiators), the IAEA can install them in other countries. The Director General of IAEA has written that he will be visiting (India) and if we can give him a few samples, the IAEA will put these in other countries which they need more," he said. Irradiators are useful for prolonging the shelf-life of food products and minimising crop loss, Mohanty said, adding that the technology would be especially useful in countries like Ghana where ginger is a cash crop (and needs preservation). At the event
India is planning a repairability index for mobile phones and electronic products to address the growing e-waste problem and encourage manufacturers to produce more easily repairable items, officials said on Thursday. The Consumer Affairs Ministry is spearheading the initiative, which will provide a score on key parameters to inform consumers about the ease with which a product can be repaired, the officials said at a national workshop on the issue. Addressing the workshop, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said: "As India emerges as the third largest economy in the world, we should have a vibrant and tech-savvy repair system." She also added, "India can become a repair hub for the world." The proposed index will be similar to initiatives in other countries, such as France's repairability index. It will rate products on criteria including availability of technical documents, ease of disassembly, spare parts availability and pricing. The workshop was aimed at establishing a ..
Tech giant Google views India as an exciting market and believes the country has huge growth prospects in the premium smartphones segment, a top official said on Tuesday. Google Mobile Business Vice President Nanda Ramachandran, speaking on the sidelines of the Made By Google event here, described India as a "fantastic growing market", asserting that the premium smartphone segment in the country is poised to outpace many of Google's other major markets. "India is a fantastic growing market and we believe that the premium smartphone market in India will exceed pretty much any top markets that we play in, and we want to be a strong player in that market," Ramachandran told PTI. Speaking further about the company's commitment to India, he noted that a successful strategy hinges on optimising its product portfolio to meet local demands. "India is one of the most exciting countries in our footprint right now, and we are fully committed. For us to succeed in India, the first thing we hav
Several rounds of talks have been held in order to formulate guidelines for seizure of electronic devices like mobile phones and laptops of individuals, especially those from the media, in the course of criminal investigations, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Thursday. It said until the time the new guidelines are put in place, central probe agencies will follow the CBI manual for search and seizure of such equipment. The apex court had on November 7 asked the Centre to put in place guidelines on seizure of electronic devices of individuals, particularly media professionals, saying impounding equipment without following a regulation was a serious matter. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia that the authorities concerned have deliberated on the proposed guidelines several times. "ASG submits that in the conspectus of the existing CBI manual and the Karnataka cyber crime ...
Central government officers will be entitled to mobile, laptop or similar devices costing up to Rs 1.3 lakh, which can be retained by them for personal use after 4 years. The Finance Ministry's Expenditure Department, in an office memorandum, listed out guidelines for the issuance of mobile, laptop, tablet, phablet, notebook, notepad, ultra-book, net-book or devices of similar categories to eligible officers for official work. As per the guidelines, all central government officers of the rank of deputy secretary and above will be entitled to such electronic devices. In the case of Section Officers and Under Secretaries, 50 per cent of the sanctioned strength can be issued such devices. Regarding the cost of the device, the office memorandum said it could be Rs 1 lakh plus taxes. However, for devices with a Make-in-India component of more than 40 per cent, the price ceiling will be Rs 1.30 lakh plus taxes. "No new device may be sanctioned to an officer who has already been allotted