Final norms on telecom gear imports soon.

NEW DELHI: The government will soon specify the norms for import of telecom and IT equipment to address national security concerns, clearing the uncertainty over use of foreign gear.

The home ministry is working with the department of telecom, the IT ministry and the National Security Agency (NSA) on the guidelines to minimise the risk of spyware being embedded in the imported equipment. The Indian Institute of Science has been roped in to give the technological support.

“We will announce guidelines for importing telecom and IT equipment in the next few days which would be applicable for all countries ,” a government official told ET.

The idea behind the move is to end all ambiguities related to what cannot be imported by telecom operators.

Recently, DoT stopped approving imports of telecom equipment from China after the home ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office expressed concerns that it could pose a threat to national security.

Following China’s protests that its companies cannot be discriminated against, the commerce department clarified that there was no ban on imports from specific countries but due to security concerns, it had been decided that imports would be cleared on a case-by-case basis.

“Once the guidelines are announced, the industry would be clear about how to go about importing telecom and IT equipment and how to ensure that there are no malafide activities once the imports have taken place,” the official said.

One option is to place an Indian professional at the factory where the equipment to be imported is tested in order to ensure that it is not tampered with. “While we are looking at that option, we have to also address the danger of viruses being introduced through remote access once the equipment is in the country,” the official added.

Source : The Economic Times