As you might be aware, the Indian government has currently restricted deliveries of non-essential goods due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Although the government has not announced when the lockdown will be relaxed, Xiaomi India has now started accepting prepaid orders on its website with some conditions.
You can now place an order for your favorite Xiaomi device from Mi’s official store but the shipment will start only after the lockdown is lifted. “Delivery of orders will be on a best effort basis. Deliveries are subject to state-level & local restrictions as well as capabilities of our delivery partners.”, wrote the company.
The company has also mentioned it reserves the right to cancel the orders if the delivery doesn’t seem feasible in the near future. In the worst-case scenario, the company will cancel the orders and provide refunds.
It is worth noting that Xiaomi is not the only company that has started accepting prepaid orders in the country. South Korean tech giant Samsung and Chinese smartphone maker Vivo have set up their online stores for prepaid orders in India as well. However, you won’t be able to find the devices of these companies on e-commerce stores like Amazon and Flipkart at this moment.
With all that said, if you ask me, I would recommend you wait until May 3 to learn more about the government’s plans regarding the relaxation or extension of lockdown instead of placing an order right now and being stuck with it. Also, in case state-level restrictions get imposed after May 3, you’re probably better off skipping this one if you’re in a high-risk zone since those areas are more likely to continue strict restrictions.