NRF24L01+ unable to receive data
As it turns out, the culprit was the power supply on the board.

The clone came with AMS1117 based regulator for the 3.3V which it did indeed generate (3.27 measured). Using it, the reception of the RF device failed (although it could transmit data). Also had 10uF and a 0.1uF capacitor hooked up in parallel to Vdd and Gnd of the NRF24L01+, as recommended. I therefore suspected something to do with the SPI configuration.

Finally, having powered the 3.3V to the Rf device from another genuine Arduino solved the problem. Not sure if it was the 3.3V rail from the clone possibly having excessive noise which may be causing the issue, as I did not see a reasonable drop in 3.3V output of the clone while in operation.