Claim
#SMARTPHONE COMPANIES IN INDIA TO STOP MANUFACTURING #4G-ONLY PHONES OVER RS 10,000, MOVE TO #5G COMPLETELY.
The Indian government has asked mobile manufacturers to discontinue all 4G-only phones over Rs 10,000 and focus only on #5G-capable devices.
They have been given a period of three months to comply.
Rating
Explanation
5G services are launched in selected Indian cities for now. The telecom service companies like Airtel and Jio are providing 5G services.
In this context, it is viral on social media that the government instructed to stop producing 3G and 4G smartphones and has asked to discontinue all 4G phones that cost more than 10,000 rupees. Several news media outlets published this piece of news. A few of the social media posts with such claims can be seen here, here and here.
What is the truth?
None of the news articles or social media posts that claimed the government instructed to stop producing 4G smartphones has provided the announcement copy or any link to the official announcement.
When searching for this information on the official government pages and the TRAI’s social media account, we found no such news on directions to stop manufacturing 4G smartphones gradually.
PIB Factcheck clarified it with a tweet and the translation of the post is here. “It is being claimed in some media posts that the Indian government has instructed smartphone companies to stop manufacturing 3G and 4G smartphones. This news is fake. The government of India has not given any such direction”.
कुछ मीडिया रिपोर्ट्स में दावा किया जा रहा है कि भारत सरकार ने स्मार्टफोन कंपनियों को 3G और 4G स्मार्टफोन की मैन्युफैक्चरिंग बंद करने का निर्देश दिया है#PIBFactCheck:
▶️ यह खबर #फ़र्ज़ी है
▶️ भारत सरकार ने ऐसा कोई निर्देश नहीं दिया है pic.twitter.com/EE2k3xss3E
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) October 13, 2022
Conclusion
It is fake claim that the government instructed to stop manufacturing 3G and 4G smartphones gradually over three months. Also, the government did not direct to stop producing 4G smartphones that cost more than 10000 rupees.
