No IMEI Mobile in India
Next time you’re trying to import a mobile phone into India you will have to ensure that it has a unique international mobile equipment identity number or IMEI. Recently the government have also banned the import arts toys made in China and dairy products that do not meet strict health standards; this band has been extended by a further six months.
The mobile phone ban which prohibits phones without an IMEI number being brought into the country comes into effect immediately, the directorate General of foreign trade have decreed.
The IMEI number is usually formed of between 15 and 17 digits, and is a unique number that is given to every single mobile phone recycled or new that uses the global system of mobile communications or GSM. The number is used to identify the individual phone on the mobile phone network. It is believed that 13% of India’s annual mobile phone market are Chinese manufactured mobile phones that do not feature IMEI numbers.
The Department of Telecom’s in India had requested that mobile phone operators are their services to phones which did not broadcast an IMEI number, stating that this was purely for security reasons. Users with phones that were affected by this were allowed to obtain an IMEI number for their mobiles by paying 180 rupees.
It was predicted that this band would have a massive impact on the mobile phone market however this has been mitigated by the government permitting the operators to issue IMEI numbers to those consumers who have mobile phones without them I wish to continue using the mobile phone network.
India has confirmed that they now banned the import of any toys I do not meet strict international safety standards; initially this was purely aimed at toys from China, however this is now than to extended to all other countries, and will continue in this manner until January 2010 will stop
