Indian Company Launches World's Cheapest Smartphone! At Rs 500 It's Cheaper Than Your Phone Bill

Ringing Bells will be launching a smartphone that is priced at less than Rs. 500. The device, called, Freedom 251, will be unveiled on February 17 and the manufacturer will reveal the exact price and its specifications at the launch event. The company says that the phone is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to connect every Indian and adds that the device is built to meet the goals of ‘Make in India’. The launch event will be attended by government officials like Manohar Parrikar, the Union Minister of Defence, and Murali Manohar Joshi, Member of Parliament.

Earlier this month, the company launched India’s cheapest smartphone, the Smart 101. Prices at Rs. 2,999, the device comes with a 5-inch qHD display and is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. It comes equipped with 8GB of onboard storage that can be expanded by up to 32GB via a microSD card. At the back is an 8MP primary camera with a 3.2MP front camera. The device has a 2800mAh battery and runs Android Lollipop v5.1.

Noida based Ringing Bells claims they are launching the most affordable smartphone till date, priced at less than Rs 500.Established last year, Ringing Bells will start with the assembly of handsets in Phase-I and aims at full indigenous development of the feature-rich smartphones.The launch is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for “empowering India to the last person, transforming India’s growth story” the company said.

Make in India is an initiative of the Government of India to encourage multi-national, as well as domestic, companies to manufacture their products in India. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 September 2014. India would emerge, after initiation of the programme in 2015, as the top destination globally for foreign direct investment, surpassing China as well as the United States.

The major objective behind the initiative is to focus on job creation and skill enhancement in 25 sectors of the economy. The initiative also aims at high quality standards and minimizing the impact on the environment. The initiative hopes to attract capital and technological investment in India.

The campaign was designed by Wieden+Kennedy
Under the initiative, brochures on the 25 sectors and a web portal were released. Before the initiative was launched, foreign equity caps in various sectors had been relaxed. The application for licences was made available online and the validity of licences was increased to three years. Various other norms and procedures were also relaxed.

In August 2014, the Cabinet of India allowed 49% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector and 100% in railways infrastructure. The defence sector previously allowed 26% FDI and FDI was not allowed in railways. This was in hope of bringing down the military imports of India. Earlier, one Indian company would have held the 51% stake, this was changed so that multiple companies could hold the 51%.

Between September 2014 and November 2015, the government received ₹1.20 lakh crore (US$18 billion) worth of proposals from companies interested in manufacturing electronics in India.

24.8% of smartphones shipped in the country in the April–June quarter of 2015 were made in India, up from 19.9% the previous quarter