The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Google’s investment of $4.5 billion (Rs 33,737 crore) in Jio Platforms. Announced at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries a couple of months ago, the deal will see Jio Platforms and Google working together in various initiatives. While announcing the deal, both the parties said they would work in developing low-cost Android smartphones aimed at the Indian market. It is also rumoured that both Jio Platforms and Google are waiting for CCI nod to launch the first set of Android phones in the market. The CCI has officially confirmed the approval of this deal on Twitter earlier today.
Low-Cost Android Smartphones by Jio Might Launch Soon
The CCI nod for the deal means we could see Reliance Jio launching cheap Android smartphones with 4G support and customised version of Android very soon. ET Telecom earlier reported that the CCI is closely reviewing the data-sharing agreement between Jio Platforms and Google as part of this massive deal. Reliance Jio was earlier rumoured to launch the phones in December and that seems to be on track. Jio Platforms is looking to launch at least 200 million smartphones in the next three years, reports TechCrunch. The publication also says the low-cost Android phones from Jio Platforms will have its own App Store with very limited applications available to the users. This is in-line with what the company is doing with JioPhones. Last year in October, we reported that Reliance Jio sold a staggering 70 million JioPhones till date and the number will be even higher now. Jio Platforms has managed to attract massive investments from global companies like Facebook, Qualcomm Ventures, Jaadhu Holdings, KKR and more. The Facebook-Jio Platforms deal also received CCI approval recently. Jio Platforms raised over $20 billion this year from 13 investors. In other news, the CCI has announced an in-depth investigation into Google and its payments service Google Pay. According to CCI, Google is taking advantage of its authority over Android in promoting Google Pay. The search giant is yet to reply to CCI.
