New Delhi, Aug. 21 -- After a decade-long hiatus during which two out of every three smartphones sold in India came from China-based brands, homegrown phone makers could make a comeback as early as next year, Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday.

Vaishnaw, speaking at a press roundtable notifying the Centre's Rs.62,500-crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), said that three homegrown companies are in talks with the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) to apply for the scheme's 'Target Segment 2', which focuses on bringing Indian smartphone brands back to the market.

"There are three companies at the moment, the names of which I cannot reveal, that we are in talks with. There is one most important point that the go...