The tough talk has been done. But is there a slip between the cup and the lip when it comes to walking the talk? Offhand incidents since the government made the great leap of forming a National Security Committee on Telecom (NSCT) seems to show a polity struck between trust and need.
On Wednesday, the cabinet committee on security approved the formation of NSCT to be headed by Deputy National Security Advisor Datta Padsalgikar (there are two other Dy NSAs, too), members from ministries concerned, two members from the industry as well as an independent expert. Its main task will be to certify ‘trusted sources’ from which Indian telecom operators can source ‘secure’ equipment. More importantly, the NSCT will also draw up a list of ‘designated sources’ from whom no procurement can be done, widely interpreted as a means to keep Chinese companies like Huawei out.
Right after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, IT & Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said the move was made “considering the need to ensure India’s national security…to maintain integrity of supply chain security.” However, Prasad and his ministry were left red-faced when it turned out that even while a national security directive was being issued, the DoT’s Telecommunications Engineering Centre had already issued permission to Huawei India to conduct testing its gear.
As the news broke, the telecom ministry went into damage control, transferring a top official and suspending the testing certificate to Huawei with immediate effect.
That’s not all. There are already concerted moves in the corridors of power to circumvent the new security moves. One line of thinking is that there may not be a blanket ban on Chinese providers, but only for critical components that handle and store the communication data. Arguments from a section of the industry, as well as some in government are that since communication data on the upcoming 5G network is transmitted encrypted, only the network element where the data is stored is sensitive, and the only area from which companies that do not come in the ‘trusted sources’ list need to be kept out.
The reason for such a push is not surprising. Not only are the Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE major suppliers to Indian telecom operators Airtel and Vi (Jio apparently uses Samsung), they are considered as having the most cutting edge, as well as cost effective, technology for 5G as well as other upcoming telecom infrastructure. For example, Europe’s Ericsson may be a worthy rival in 5G gear, but could work out to be more expensive.
Both Huawei and Ericsson did not respond to THE WEEK’s queries.
“Currently, the telecom industry is heavily dependent on Chinese manufacturers,” points out Ratish Pandey, business coach with Ethique Advisory. “Moreover, the future 5G technology is led strongly by Chinese companies. If the Chinese manufacturers are ruled out, it is likely to have serious implications on the telecom sector, both in terms of cost and time lost.”
As Pandey points out, any further delay in 5G roll-out will “hamper significantly the post-pandemic digitisation by Indian organisations.”
Kazim Rizvi, founder of the think-tank The Dialogue was more circumspect in an earlier interview, where he surmised, “Considering how 5G will be a bedrock of India’s plans for smart cities, transport and infrastructure, we need a strategic approach.”
Gift of the gab aside, Modi government now has the difficult choice of demonstrating that its actions speak louder than its words.