Smartphone distributors have criticized the Rajasthan government and are against the their latest scheme that plans on giving out free smartphones to women. The retailers believe that the move will make a significant impact on their profits. So here are all the details.
Why are smartphone retailers up in arms?
Smartphone retailers are pushing back against the Indian state government’s recent initiative to provide women in Rajashtan with free smartphones. The move to distribute 4 million smartphones by October will take away a large number of potential customers by giving away 500,000 smartphones for free. This would directly impact their profits and likely lead to significant losses, according to the retailers.
The All India Mobile Retailers Association wrote to Rajasthan Chief Minister’s office in a letter that 25 percent of the half a million phones sold in the state every month cost under 10,000 INR. The association added that “These devices are mainly retailed by small-scale businesses who are now struggling with an unenviable situation due to exclusive distribution of IGSY (Indira Gandhi Smartphone Yojana) smartphones by an outside agency through a limited number of camps.
What is the new scheme all about?
They further added that the distribution of smartphones is being handled by two agencies, which bypass the existing distribution network in the region. For those unaware, the Rajasthan government had announced the free smartphone distribution scheme earlier this month. With this new initiative, the state aimed on providing free handsets to three groups of females.
This included widowed pensioners, girl students and female heads of families working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme and the Indira Gandhi Urban Guarantee Scheme. The government will be giving away these smartphones through state-authorized distributors who are holding camps across the state. Those that are eligible for this scheme are given a date and time to queue up for their free smartphone.
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(Via)
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