DeitY may quiz Ringing Bells over Freedom 251 smartphone price tag: Report

DeitY (Department of Electronics & Information Technology) is reportedly looking to summon the Noida-based company Ringing Bells for a meeting, which claims to sell the world’s cheapest smartphone Freedom 251 at a price tag of only Rs 251. Many doubts have been raised regarding the price tag which is said to be “too good, to be true.” The meeting is likely to happen this week. According to a report by the  The Economic Times, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had asked IT Secretary Aruna Sharma to check the credentials and claims of the company, Ringing Bells, after it made the offer. The ministry has asked Sharma to seek help from state chief secretaries wherever needed as well. BJP MP Kirit Somaiya believes that the Freedom 251 is a huge scam. Somaiya has said that there is a huge scam involved in ‘Freedom 251’. After going through all papers of the company, he found out that the ‘Freedom 251’ doesn’t even have a licence. The BJP MP has approached telecom ministry, telecom regulator Trai, Consumer Ministry, SEBI, Corporate Ministry Finance Ministry, RBI and state governments to check various concerns that he has on the company offering mobile phone at Rs 251– which is the world’s cheapest. Ringing Bells’ President Ashok Chaddha had earlier said manufacturing cost of the phone is about Rs 2,500 (now claimed to be Rs 1500), which will be recovered through a series of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an e-commerce marketplace. “By going for Made in India components, we can save on the 13.8 per cent duty. Also, we will be selling online first and thus save the costs incurred on large distribution network,” he said. Chaddha also rejected speculations of the handset being subsidised by the government. “The phone will be manufactured in Noida and Uttaranchal. Two plants will be set up for Rs 250 crore each with a capacity of 5 lakh phones. The money will come in the form of debt and equity (1.5:1),” he said.