The proposal to incentivize Indian- manufactured telecom equipment in the National Telecom Policy 2011 (NTP-2011) is being opposed by Japanese industry associations, according to an industry watch website Telecom Orbit.
According to the website report, Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), Communications and Information Network Association of Japan (CIAJ), Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association (JBMIA) and Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA) have said that the establishment of “excessive testing and certification regimes may push up production costs and hamper the entire expansion plans of the Indian telecom market”.
The draft NTP-2011 has proposed incentivizing telecom service providers to use indigenous products by encouraging:
- Commitment to purchase Indian products that are comparable in price and performance to imported products.
- Commitment to participate in trials of newly created Indian products, nurture them and place pilot orders.
- Funding R&D and support Indian IPR creation and participate in creation of standards. (Click here to read the Draft National Telecom Policy 2011)
The policy has proposed providing preferential market access for domestically manufactured products with special emphasis on Indian products for which IPRs reside in India to adequately address the strategic and security needs of the country consistent with international commitments.
The Japanese industry associations, according to Telecom Orbit, have argued that granting such preferential access to domestically manufactured products would stifle innovation and reduce India’s international competitiveness. Utilization of the latest technologies will be essential in developing a secure telecommunications network, the associations further argued.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while inaugurating the India Telecom Summit in December last year, had expressed concern over large imports of telecom equipment and stated that there was an urgent need to give impetus to the domestic research and development and manufacturing in the telecom sector, given the sector’s growth potential.
“A thriving telecom manufacturing industry would have a large positive impact on many other elements of the electronics manufacturing value chain, apart from generating other benefits like additional employment. I hope the deliberations in this conference will focus attention on how to promote R&D and manufacturing capabilities in the telecom sector in our country,” he said.
The domestic Indian telecom equipment manufacturers have twice written to the PM, seeking a level playing field compared to the foreign equipment makers and raising the national security issue related to the import of foreign telecom equipment. The Prime Minister’s Office also, during the last year, had sought an update from the Department of Telecom about the steps taken to tackle the security issues arising from the importing of telecom equipment.
To address the national security issue, the Japanese associations have urged the Indian government to come out with a standardized set of security parameters. The associations have argued that a global response is required to combat security threats in the telecom sector and standardization is necessary to achieve this.
“As a member of the CCRA, an international mutual recognition agreement on information security testing and certification, the Indian government should institute an internationally consistent information security system using the CCRA framework,” the associations have been quoted as saying.
The associations have also urged the government adopt a flexible approach and provide adequate protection for the intellectual property rights and confidential information of foreign companies.
