Telecom companies will be allowed to instal only govt approved gears from Jun 15

With effect from June 15, telecom operators will be required to take permission for up-gradation of existing networks

To prevent non-friendly countries including Chinese equipment in the Indian telecom network, the Centre on Wednesday amended telecom licence norms that will enable the Department of Telecom to control the installation of network equipment from non-trusted sources.

With effect from June 15, 2021, telecom operators will be required to take permission from the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) for up-gradation of existing networks, utilising the telecom equipment not designated as trusted products.

The government's latest move will help the government to prevent non-friendly countries including China from supplying telecom equipment to Indian telecom service providers.

The government's decision comes as it aims to ensure that Chinese equipment companies like Huawei and ZTE are excluded as telecom vendors as India prepares a 5G rollout soon.

At present Airtel and Vodafone Idea have existing contracts with the Chinese vendors while Jio works largely with Korean vendor Samsung.

However, these directions will not affect ongoing Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMC) or updates to existing equipment already inducted in the network as on date of effect.

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According to the license amendment, the NCSC will be the designated authority that can impose conditions for the procurement of telecom equipment on the grounds of "Defence of India" or matters directly related to national security.

"Designated authority shall notify the categories of equipment for which the security related to Trusted sources are applicable. For the said categories of equipment designated authority shall notify the trusted sources along with the associated telecommunication equipment (trusted products)," according to the amendment.

The NCSC may also notify a list of designated sources from whom no procurement can be done.

While the government has not barred procurement of equipment from Chinese companies, it amended the general financial rules (GFR) 2017 to enable the imposition of restrictions on bidders in public procurement from countries that share a land border with India on grounds of defence of India, or matters directly or indirectly related thereto, including national security.

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Public companies need to scrap tenders if a qualified bidder is from a country that shares a land border with India, which includes China.

After India-China border tensions in Eastern Ladakh, the government has been taken a series of steps to make it tougher for Chinese companies to operate in India.

Earlier India said companies belonging to countries sharing a border with India can no longer invest under the automatic route and need their investments to be vetted by the Indian authorities. Besides, around 220 Chinese apps, including popular ones such as TikTok, have been banned citing national security reasons.