Phones that don’t have the 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity code are cheaper that the normal ones and can’t be traced. Some of these phones have been used in attacks by various Indian militant groups – that’s why the Indian authorities asked carriers to block them.

Apparently, more than 25 million IMEI-less handsets are currently in the hands of Indian mobile users. Most of these phones are unbranded and are either manufactured in India, or imported from China.

India currently has almost 500 million mobile subscribers and it’s the world’s second largest mobile market (after China).