The Indian Government have barred imports of mobile handsets without an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number.
The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade have put a stop to imports following their request in April for Indian cellphone operators COAI to block access of these handsets.
Along with blocking imports, the COAI will be putting a small cost on consumers registering the 20 million IMEI-less Chinese handsets currently in use in India.
Chinese imports are generally cheaper whilst offering the same touchscreen and multimedia features, making them a very attractive purchase.

[Via Techtree]