New regulatory certification to drive Chinese CCTV camera brands out of India

It has come to light that there were several security issues in the cameras and the hackers exploited the vulnerabilities in the components to transmit video recordings to a remote location.

Over the last several years, Chinese companies such as HikVision, and Dahua have captured a major share of the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Camera market.

However, they may be forced to shut shop in the subcontinent, as the Indian government has mandated that CCTV camera companies use non-Chinese or local components, in particular chipsets.

In 2024, the Indian government introduced Essential Requirements (ER) norms for CCTV cameras, and it offered two years for the companies to make the transition. As per the norms, the companies have to certify each of their product under the STQC (Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification) regime at a certified lab.

It has come to light that there were several security issues in the cameras that allowed hackers to transmit video recordings to a remote location. This is a serious threat to user privacy.

The deadline to get certified ends on April 1, 2026. As per The Economic Times, the regulatory agencies that come under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have explicitly refused to certify products with Chinese chipsets, effectively ending the road for HikVision, Dahua, and other Chinese origin companies.

Some consumer electronics brands, such as Xiaomi and Realme, which used to have a good share in the smart home camera segment, have silently exited the market.

Without certification, HikVision, and Dahua will no longer be able to sell their CCTV cameras in India from this week. Also, they won't be able roll out any future updates to devices, which are already sold. And, even customers will not be able to repair their devices as well.

Now, India-based CP Link, Hero Group-backed Qubo, Prama, Matrix, Sparsh and others have the potential to fill the void left by the Chinese brands. Some of them have already signed deals with Taiwanese chipset suppliers and local component makers.

For HikVision, and Dahua, and other chinese firms to continue their business in India, they have to either start a joint venture with Indian firms and also incorporate non-Chinese components and chipsets.

It should be noted that prominent CCTV-maker TP-Link, which was founded in China, moved its base to Irvine, California, US in late 2024.

It now sources components for its smart home cameras and other products from USA and Taiwan.

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