The JioPhone will also offer free voice as part of the tariff, said Mukesh Ambani, a billionaire who runs Reliance.

The news caused other phone companies shares to slump, according to the Bloomberg news wire.

Apparently Taiwanese giant Foxconn will manufacture the phone, but has caused competitors like Bharti Airtel, which saw its share price fall 4.1 percent on the Mumbai bourse.

India is viewed as a potential goldmine for telephone companies but the truth is that many people in the country wouldn’t be able to afford phones made by Apple, Samsung and the rest.