The Indian smartphone market grew nearly 190% in the first quarter of 2014. But this boom isn't being driven by the big players – it's home-grown brands like Micromax, Karbonn and Lava. Cost is a factor, but are there more meaningful reasons behind people’s smartphone purchases?

In rural India, most of the population is still overwhelmingly poor. But for young Indian urbanites, the ‘poverty line’ means something else entirely. This latest generation of status-obsessed consumers splashes out on luxury products with little regard for their bank balances.

With a reputation for quality, foreign brands dominate Chinese technology markets. But in 2014, homegrown Xiaomi overtook Samsung and Apple to become the biggest smartphone manufacturer in China. How did a Chinese company manage to build enough prestige to compete with the big boys?

Anand Chandrasekaran, Chief Product Officer at Bharti Airtel, spent a month with rural communities in India to find out how they were using technology. His findings provide valuable insight into how mobile is changing life not just in India’s major cities, but beyond them too.