TEMA welcomes National Directive on Security in Telecom Sector

TEMA compliments the decision of Cabinet Committee on Security for the creation of a National Security Directive in the telecom sector in order to maintain the integrity of the supply chain security. It is a welcome move to note that the Government will declare a list of ‘trusted sources/trusted products’ and a list of “ Not trusted sources/products” for the benefit of the telecom service providers.

Delhi: As per TEMA, it is expected that untrusted suppliers would include Chinese companies like Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, etc and Indian manufacturers of the telecom equipment will be declared as trusted vendors.

It is appreciated that the list would be approved by the National Security Committee on Telecom (NSCT) headed by Dy. NSA, after it is prepared and vetted by National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) Lt. Gen Dr. Rajesh Pant. It is a great step towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat and the development of domestic industries.

Shri Ravi Sharma, Chairman TEMA on this occasion said, “What a wonderful decision for National Security of India. The decision to allow to use, maintain, upgrade the existing products from ”Non trusted” sources as and when finalized needs reconsideration. The National security risks will remain so long as any “untrusted product” remain in the network, especially in the era of 5G, where millions of IoT, M2M products are going to be connected. It may be noted that in the UK, the USA the Government has given a timeline to replace all the “Untrusted types of equipment. And India has sufficient funds available in USOF for this purpose”

With the coming of 5G, all the devices will be interconnected, increasing the security risk. Therefore, it is in the interest of India to use safety equipment, supplied by the trusted Indian vendors.

Shri R Chandrashekhar, IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary DOT, Meity and currently Chairman TEMA Council on Digital Empowerment said “This is a very timely and appropriate move by the Government. Mandating the use of only trusted equipment in the future and gradual phasing out of equipment from other sources already present in networks is an essential step to securing our telecom infrastructure. Alongside, there is a need to step up R&D in 5G in addition to ramping up the manufacture of telecom equipment under PMP/PLI schemes. There are an opportunity and imperative to link these three dimensions to achieve Atma Nirbhar Bharat in telecom within the next 2-3 years. TEMA is ready to work with the Government to lay out a road map to achieve this goal.”

This is a great initiative for Atma Nirbhar Bharat because domestically manufactured equipment is going to be declared as trusted products.

Shri Ajay Shankar, IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, DIPP and currently Chairman TEMA Council on Industrial Policy in this behalf said ”This is a welcome and essential step to safeguard national security. The phenomenal progress in telecom technology has transformed our lives and productivity. But it has created unprecedented risks and vulnerabilities. Ensuring that only trusted equipment is used and untrusted equipment is replaced as soon as feasible is a move that needs wholehearted support.”

Dr Gulshan Rai, Former National Coordinator NCSC said “It is now duty and obligations on part of indigenous product manufacturers to enhance the features, reliability, and security of their products. The industry has to gear up to meet the challenges.

Prof NK Goyal, Chairman Emeritus TEMA said” Of particular importance is the decision of the Government to declare DOT PMA compliant product as Trusted Indian products and the decision that NSCT will work to increase the use of Indian trusted products in telecom networks. It is also heartening to see that all the networks would be covered irrespective of their ownership by private or public.“

India for the 1st time will supply 4G and 5G equipment."Now, the Indian Industry is gearing up to face the challenges to manufacture safe and reliable equipment.

Prof. Swaroop Ganguli, Deptt. of Electrical Engineering, IIT MUMBAI and member TEMA COUNCIL ON 6G said, "This much-needed decision by the CCS recognizes communication infrastructure as a strategic asset for the nation and takes a far-reaching step towards securing it against external threats."