NEW DELHI: Two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China where he promised ‘Easy to Make in India’, the Ministry of Home Affairs cleared a 19-month-old proposal of Chinese telecom giant Huawei to set up a manufacturing plant in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai.
Though the security clearance came with certain conditions, the move is a departure from the government’s earlier tough stand in clearing proposals in sensitive sectors like telecom.
Sources said the Home Ministry cleared the proposal last week, which was moved on “December 13, 2013 for setting up a unit for electronic/telecom hardware and support services, including trading and logistics activities at SIPCOT Special Economic Zone, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.”
However, the ministry has made it clear that the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Department of Telecom (DoT) will need to ensure that the officer-in-charge of technical operations and chief security officer of the proposed Huawei Telecommunications unit must be Indian nationals.
“Further, security clearance of the Home Ministry will be required in respect of Chairman, Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, if it is planning to appoint foreign nationals in these positions,” a top government source said, adding that the decision was made after finalising the National Security Clearance Policy in June to fast track projects keeping in mind the PM’s promise of ease of doing business in India. DoT will now also have to draw mandatory security parameters.