‘Essentials tag’ call divides handset makers, retailers

New Delhi: Sharp differences have emerged within handset makers and retailers over the treatment of devices during the lockdown. While handset makers sought PMO support not to just make mobile phones an essential item but also allow its sales in offline shops, retailers opposed any move to bring mobile handsets under essential items, and resumption of offline sales amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Instead, retailers want a bumper stimulus package from the government to rescue 30,000 sellers from bankruptcy, saying that retail business is already on a ventilator. All India Mobile Retailer Association (AIMRA), which represents 1.5 lakh such retailers across the country, wrote to commerce minister Piyush Goyal to not consider mobile handsets as essential items.