Website offering Rs 99 mobile named after Narendra Modi "goes phut", bookings "closed" six days earlier

Screenshot of the website on Friday evening

By A Representative
Namotel.com, the website named after Prime Minister Narenda Modi which had claimed to have begun booking Rs 99 smartphone, Namotel, appears to have suddenly gone phut. Reason? It wants to "improve" and "serve" consumers better! A visit to the website on Friday evening said, to quote word by word, "The website unavailable while we make upgrades improve (sic) our service to you. we will return with more passion and energy to serve you better."
It further said, "We closed the bookings as of now. we will reopen bookings once fulfill the initial commitment delivered watch (sic) this page for more information."
It continued, "Thanks to All especially Media Who Helped Make Our 'Acche Din by namotel a Huge Success." It added, "we apologize the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Thank you for making namotel.com."
The registration for buying the phone was originally planned from May 19 to May 25 on this website, but why have the booking has suddently stopped just one day later is not known. The man who owns the website, show details on http://who.is, is Madhava Reddy from Bangalore. The site was "registered" on March 1, and "updated" on May 1, 2016.

A promotional ad for Namotel

nother website with a similar name, namotel.org.in, says, "This is Not Official Namotel Website. We are Not Collecting any People Information in the Form of Mail ids and Credit/ Debit Card Payment information. We are Only Promoting Product to the People, Not Gathering any Personal Information. For Checking/ Register go to Official Website : www.namotel.com."
According to reports, the dual phone phone had offered basic specifications. It claims to run on 1.3 GHz quad core processor, with a RAM of 1 GB, internal storage of 4 GB, 3G connectivity support, and sporting a 2 MP rear and a 0.3 MP front camera. Run on on Android Lollipop 5.1.1, it was supposed to be available in two colours -- white and black.
Madhav Reddy, says a report, had been the Namotel's only point of contact. His earlier worked as loan manager with Axis Bank. The promoter, according to this report, had earlier claimed that the phone was earlier priced at Rs 2,999, but was slashed to Rs 99 to usher in Acche Din.
Namotel reportedly was to be available only to those who have aadhaar cards.
Also in course of the online booking, which is not available now, Namotel was to charge an extra ₹199 to deliver the phone to the buyer's address.
It was going to be the cheapest phone, so far offered in India. In February, there was Freedom 251, selling the smartphone for Rs 251. It failed to see light of the day. More recently there was Docoss X1 was announced, selling at Rs 888.
In both the instances big promises to sell ultra-cheap smartphones were made, but nothing happened thereafter. A top news site said, "So, it would probably not be a bad idea to steer clear of these claims until there is some proof of actual intent to deliver on the promise of miraculously cheap smartphones."

Comments

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’

Dowry over duty: How material greed shattered a seven-year bond

By Archana Kumar* This account does not seek to expose names or tarnish identities. Its purpose is not to cast blame, but to articulate—with dignity—the silent suffering of a woman who lived her life anchored in love, trust, and duty, only to be ultimately abandoned.

Search This Blog