Twitter blue likely to cost Rs 719 in India

Twitter India has started the roll-out of the blue tick mark that signifies the authenticity of the account. Users can add the label to their accounts for Rs 719 per month or $8.8. Users in India have been putting up images of prompts they received for the blue subscription. The price in India for the blue subscription is higher than in the US. The verified badge, which used to be free, costs $7.99 in the US. 

The blue verification is expected to be widely available in India in the coming days. Musk had announced that the price of the verification label outside of the US will depend on purchasing power in the respective countries. There has been speculation that the verification service will be made available to iPhone users first. 

With Twitter's Blue Tick service, users can have verification without actually being verified. Users with a verified account will also enjoy priority in reach and display. They will also enjoy priority in retweets, mentions and searches, Musk said. 

“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit,” he tweeted. Critics have said that the new verification service will let anyone avail and misuse the privilege. But, Musk has said that if anyone misuses the blue verification mark, the money will be forfeited and accounts permanently suspended.