NEW DELHI: With the Home Ministry clearing a proposal by Chinese telecom giant Huawei to set up a manufacuring plant in Sriperumbudur, the Department of Telecom (DoT) will need to come up with security parameters.
In addition to security, the DoT will also need to come up with technical, quality and interface parameters to enable the definition of clear security standards for technical equipment related to networking systems. Home Ministry has also directed the DoT to ensure the setting up of state-of-the-art laboratory and certification facilities for security certification of foreign equipment entering the Indian market, through both the direct or indirect routes.
“There should be a regime of continuous testing and audit of networks, after the deployment of such equipment and these requirements should be in place within a year,” Home Ministry told the DoT and DIPP.
Under the new National Security Clearance Policy, DoT has been directed to set up advanced testing facilities to check embedded software, trap doors, malware and so on to prevent cyber espionage.
One of the main reasons for streamlining the security clearance and expediting the pending proposals, a senior official noted, was due to procedural difficulties despite promises of removing red tape from the system.
Even before Prime MinisterModi’s visit to China, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) headed by NSA Ajit Doval had prepared a note stating, “Despite being India’s largest trading partner, Foreign Direct Investment inflows from China have been insignificant. Between April 2000 and January 2015 Foreign Direct Investment from China was only $612.6 million, constituting 0.25 per cent of the total FDI inflows. China comes at 26th position in terms of FDI inflows.”
The NSCS, while welcoming the FDI for ‘Make-in-India’ had suggested that post-investment monitoring should be adequately strengthened.
