Smartphones have become 7.9% more expensive in 5 months; will the government's decision provide relief now?
Every day, some company or the other is increasing the price of its phone, which has seen the prices of many smartphones rise by thousands of rupees. In this situation, the government has now launched a mobile phone manufacturing scheme, under which companies will receive incentives, which is expected to curb rising prices.
RJ Kesari News Desk: Gradually, most mobile manufacturing companies are increasing the prices of phones, which has ruined the entire budget of the common people for buying a new phone.
In such a situation, market research firm TechArc has conducted a study, this study has revealed how much the average mobile phone has become expensive in the first five months of 2026.
According to this study, after prices remained largely stable for a year in the Indian smartphone market, the average price of handsets has increased by 7.9 percent between January 2026 and May 2026.
Will a government decision give you relief?
On Wednesday (July 15), the government approved the MPMS, or Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme. This scheme will cost ₹62,500 crore and will be implemented for the next five years.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav stated that under this scheme, companies will be given incentives based on research and development (R&D) and domestic sourcing of components in India.
Furthermore, separate incentives will also be provided for increasing smartphone exports. The government's decision now seems to curb the rising prices and provide relief to the general public.
The government's objective behind this scheme is to ensure the production of mobile phones worth ₹39 lakh crore during the period it is in effect. It's worth noting that the previous PLI scheme saw production worth ₹22 lakh crore.
This time, the government wants local production to exceed the previous period.
By offering incentives to companies under this scheme, the government has taken an important step, and it's hoped this move will curb the rising prices of mobile phones.
What came out in the study?
Outlook Business reports that the study tracked the monthly retail prices of 165 smartphone models from 22 brands launched in 2025 and found that prices remained relatively unchanged over the past year before rising sharply in 2026.
It turns out that the budget segment and lower mid-range devices saw the biggest price increases.
"2025 was the year of discounts, with buyers who waited and were rewarded with stable or falling phone prices. 2026 has completely changed that," said Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst and co-founder of TechArc.