RIL may need to offer Rs 15000 crore subsidy to attract users to JioPhone Next: Analysts

Kolkata: Reliance Industries may need to subsidise consumers to the extent of Rs 15,000 crore in the next 2-3 years if it targets selling around 75 million units of its upcoming budget 4G smartphone, developed with Google, amid rising component and shipping costs and supply challenges, analysts said.

The calculation is based on the estimated subsidy element per unit of the new JioPhone Next at Rs 2,000, equivalent to 50% of the likely Rs 4,000 target cost of the low-priced 4G device. Currently, the cheapest 4G smartphone is priced at around Rs 3,800, while those from popular brands start from around Rs 6,000, market players said.