The Windows Phone platform might be struggling right now in the U.S. and other parts of the world, but things are turning out a little bit differently in India. According to the latest IDC report, Windows Phone managed to topple iOS and BlackBerry to become the 2nd most widely used mobile operating system in the country behind Android.

You may not want to classify this as a big win for Microsoft and Windows Phone just yet, because though the platform sits at the number 2 position, it only has around 5 percent market share. That’s peanuts compared to Android, but at the end of the day, it’s a far better position than wandering away in last place.

The main reason for Windows Phone’s upsurge in India has all to with Nokia and its low-end and low-cost Lumia range of devices. The report dubbed the Lumia 520 as one of the key drivers to the platform’s new found success in India. If Microsoft is able to continue this trend after Nokia mobile division buyout deal goes according to plan, then India could turn out to be a major battleground.

“Windows Phone powered Nokia Lumia devices have achieved a striking growth in their volumes within a very short time since their launch in India. With new Windows Phone devices getting launched at short intervals, we expect them to continue on this growth trajectory,” according to Manasi Yadav, Senior Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC India.

The coming years should be interesting to watch, let’s hope Microsoft is able to keep up because Android is in need of some serious competition.

[via Tech Circle]