Amid security concerns by the Government over Chinese telecom equipments, the telecom regulator TRAI is planning to seek views of stakeholders on ways to encourage local manufacturing of such equipments.
The move comes at a time when there are reports that the government may impose ban on import of Chinese telecom equipments.
The telecom department had recently issued a strict norm as per which service providers, when they enter into licence agreements with the government, have to provide details of equipment to be procured in a prescribed proforma.
However, DoT also made it clear that no blanket ban has been imposed on any company.
TRAI is planning to come up with a consultation paper to encourage telecom equipment manufacturing locally as also to identify the impediments for the same and ways to encourage the same. Towards this, TRAI has already issued a pre-consultation paper asking stakeholders to give their comments and views on the issue.
All stakeholders are required to give their views, and concerns at pre-consultation stage by June 8. Stakeholders’ views are invited at pre-consultation stage to identify issues for wider consultations that include barriers for growth of domestic manufacturing of telecom equipment, factors affecting competitiveness, incentives that can enhance development, methods to boost R&D, type of initiatives required to develop indigenous products among others.
