The Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Home Affairs jointly have given a green signal to the import of sensitive telecom equipment. This has come as a welcome and much-needed monsoon gift for telcos like Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices.
Telcos have long been looking for options for procuring cost effective telecom gear to expand their networks. This news has solved their problems in many ways. They can now import the much needed telecom equipment after getting the equipment certified by an international security audit firm.
Another group of companies that will welcome this decision are telecom gear vendors that are already serving the Indian market. Such vendors include Huawei and ZTE. These companies can also now import products from their own country rather than getting them manufactured in India. Importing of home made items will prove to be much more competitive enabling these vendors to provide better products and services.
According to the proposal passed, the telecos need to get a security clearance from an internationally acclaimed certification agency before they can import any kind of telecom gear. This step has been added in the whole process keeping in mind that telecom equipment can be quite sensitive. As an appendage to this step, the Indian government has also asked the telecos to submit a bank guarantee to the Department of Communications. This bank security can be forfeited by the government whenever, if at a later stage, any of the imported material poses a security threat. Criminal proceedings will also e started against the company that t imported the security-threatening product.
It is for this reason that the Indian government has asked the telcos to obtain a security clearance before actually importing the products. As India till date has no such certification agency, it is planning to tie up with 8 such internationally recognized and widely acclaimed agencies. As a part of the certification process, the International Certification Agency would visit the plant of the vendor, inspect their products and give a security clearance only if they do not pose a security threat.
Another step that the Indian government has taken keeping in mind the telcos is to place a stopgap solution for the next year. This will ensure that the telcos do not face any project delays thereby causing them to loose huge amounts of money. In the meantime, the Indian government has also started the process of setting up an Indian Certification Agency that will certify the telecom gear before it is imported.
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