New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS): LAVA has emerged as a "Challenger" mobile handset maker across India and stands at number one in states like Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat, a new report said on Friday.

According to market research group Cyber Media Research (CMR), LAVA registered 29 percent in mobile handset shipments in the third quarter of 2016, selling over 7.1 million handsets as compared to 5.4 million in the second quarter this year.

"Despite immense competition, we have done highest volume among all Indian mobile handset brands and have emerged as the 'Challenger' brand across India," said Navin Chawla, Chief Operating Officer of LAVA.

LAVA plans to strengthen its manufacturing in India to cater to both domestic and international markets. 

"It has earmarked an overall investment of Rs 2,615 crore for ramping up the existing manufacturing units along with setting up more manufacturing facilities to increase the overall production capacity to 216 million units per annum in the next five to eight years," said Chawla.