The biggest advantage that WP has in India is Nokia. They've always been a favorite brand. However, the issue that is happening there, from my understanding (I'm not in India), is the lack of comparable features to Android. There has been an increase in cheap Android phones in India and Nokia is slowly losing market share there as well, though the Asha range is still popular.
Making low-end hardware is a good idea. Competing against other low-end hardware that gives people what they want is the issue. I think they really need to attract the emerging markets to the platform. I believe it's the biggest chance they have of having a successful platform.
I know most people on here are happy with the WP works for them but we need to keep in mind that not everyone uses their phone the same way, especially in third world countries where wifi and unlimited data are not common.
I hope to see new features come to WP, I think it's desperately needed. Nokia has done a wonderful job with the camera, now it's up to Microsoft to make things happen for the better. Let's hope 8.1 is a good update whenever it comes.