Not only can it have 24x7 camera access, it can read your texts and call logs.
And with it coming pre-installed on android phones, it may even have root permissions which means that it can do anything on the device.
Note the ability to read and modify storage. This is entirely so the government can plant anything on your phone and arrest you later. Perfect solution to curb any political dissent since most courts in India are controlled by the RSS now and you won't even get a trial for years.
They have made it "deletable" officially but if it has root access then it won't go away. It still comes pre-installed and the tech illiterate population won't do shit against this.
I would suggest a flip phone or brick type phone, but does India do a lot of app-based payment? I know that going without a smartphone in a place like China where everything in the cities is Wechat or Alipay would be impossible.
Digital Payments are popular but not Wechat popular. So you can manage with cash.
But you need whatsapp for all communication nowadays so a rooted android or iPhone seems to be the only option now.