The Home Ministry said on Thursday that there was no plan to “single out Chinese investments” in India in the wake of the ongoing standoff at Doklam and the August 15 scuffle at Pangong lake.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh is all set to attend a key Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on disaster management at Kyrgyztan on September 24-25. SCO is a China and Russia dominated security group. An official said Mr. Singh was going to attend the first ever meet, as India attaches great importance to the SCO.
The Home Ministry is the nodal authority to provide clearance to foreign investments under the National Security Clearance Policy. A Ministry spokesperson said putting security clearances to Chinese companies on hold or cancelling them was not being considered. “We take adequate steps while giving security clearances. There is no plan to single out any Chinese company,” said a senior official.
Security concerns
The Home Ministry’s assurance comes amid red-flags raised by Intelligence agencies regarding vulnerability of equipment and products imported from China in the telecom sector. As many as 15 parameters are fixed in eight to nine sensitive areas such as telecom and ports.
On August 3, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha that there was a 37% increase in Chinese investments in India since 2014, the year the NDA government came to power. “China has a major stake in our economic growth,” she had said.