NTA studying feasibility of assembling mobile phones in Nepal

KATHMANDU: The Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has started a feasibility study for assembling mobile phones in Nepal. NTA has initiated the study to reduce the country’s trade deficit by assembling mobile phones within the country in the context of smart phones worth billions of rupees being imported every year.

Imports of mobile phones in Nepal have skyrocketed after the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Mobile Phone Association of Nepal, in the last fiscal year 2077-78 alone, more than 4 million sets of mobile phones worth Rs 37.40 billion have been imported in the country.

NTA has formed a seven-member committee led by NTA spokesperson Min Prasad Aryal to study the issue.

The committee has studied the prospect of assembling and refurbishing mobile phones in Nepal. Assembling means making mobiles in Nepal by bringing parts from abroad, while refurbishing means repairing damaged mobiles and making them new. The committee has suggested that mobile phones can be produced and refurbished in Nepal by providing necessary facilitation to mobile phone importers and industrialists.