Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 16

Telecom equipment from China may face fresh curbs with the Cabinet on Wednesday clearing a proposal to secure telecom infrastructure by designating “trusted sources” for the purchase of equipment by service providers.

Announcing the decision Union Law and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had framed a National Security Directive in the telecommunication sector, keeping in mind the country’s security.

All service providers -- public and private -- would mandatorily be required to source “trusted products” from “trusted sources”. The move would have no retrospective impact, Prasad said.

“The methodology to designate trusted products will be devised by the designated authority -- the National Cyber Security Coordinator. A list of trusted sources and products would be decided by a committee headed by the deputy national security adviser,” he said.

The committee would be called the national security committee on telecom, Prasad said, adding that it would also create a list of designated sources from whom “no procurement can be done”.

The directive had provision to qualify telecom gear made by domestic players, the minister said, adding that those who meet the criteria of the preferential market access scheme would be certified as India trusted sources.

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