Ringing Bells Claims To Deliver Rs. 251 Smartphone From June 28

Ringing Bells, a Noida based little-known company, that ran into controversy after announcing Rs251 smartphone: Freedom251 has now announces that it will start deliveries of the handset to customers from June 28.

                         

"Deliveries will start to customers who have registered for buying the phone, on the first come first serve basis on COD (cash-on-delivery)", company's Director Mohit Goel said.

Ringing Bells, a smartphone startup is said to be started in September,2015 and has gain popularity in February via its website. In February company has announced Rs 251 smartphone i.e. Freedom251.  But the launch of the smartphone, touted to be the world's cheapest, swirled into controversy, with some calling it a ponzy scheme.

During the 2 day sale, website of the company crashed due to huge response from prospective buyers. The company claimed that around 30,000 customers had booked the phone despite the glitch.

The company, however, withdrew the product and refunded the payments to customers following a close scrutiny by government agencies.

The company had said about 30,000 people paid for booking the phone and over 7 crore people registered for it.

Later, the company said that it would deliver the phone on cash-on-delivery mode to those who placed the order. Goel said that Ringing Bells has a foolproof plan to support the price but did not disclose it.

The phone was to 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)," Mr Chaddha had said.

However, industry players had expressed doubt over the claim. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad too had asked the Department of Electronics and IT to look into the matter.

The company had also come under the scanner of Excise and Income Tax Departments amid debate over the feasibility of a 3G-enabled handset for Rs 251.