The Department of Telecommunications approved 31 proposals entailing an investment of $447 million (INR 33450 million) over the next 4.5 years, as part of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom and networking products manufactured in India. Proposals from seven global companies, 8 domestic firms and 16 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises were approved. Nokia India, Ericsson, Foxconn, Tejas Networks, VVDN, STL Technologies, Dixon and HFCL, are some of the companies selected for this scheme. The PLI scheme covers the manufacturing of telecom gear, such as core transmission equipment, 4G/5G radio access network (RAN) and wireless gear, internet of things (IoT) access devices, customer premises equipment (CPEs), and enterprise equipment including switches and routers, among others.

A statement said C-DoT has become the first organization in India to offer complete portfolio of indigenous quantum secure telecom products and solutions to comprehensively address the requirements of telecom operators as well as that of strategic sector like Defense, in India. Sh. K. Rajaraman also inaugurated the Quantum Communication Lab at C-DOT, Delhi and unveiled the indigenously developed Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) solution by C-DOT which can support more than 100 kilometers on standard optical fiber. Development of indigenous QKD solution is essential to address the threat that rapid advancement in Quantum Computing poses to the security of the data being transported by various critical sectors through the current communication networks. With the development of QKD solution and the existing suite of wide range of products in Optical Access, Core, Switching & Routing, Wireless, Post Quantum Cryptography Encryptors (PQCE) etc., C-DOT has become the first organization in India to offer complete portfolio of indigenous Quantum Secure telecom products & solutions to comprehensively address the requirements of Telecom Service Providers as well as Strategic and Defense sector in India.

A statement said C-DoT has become the first organization in India to offer complete portfolio of indigenous quantum secure telecom products and solutions to comprehensively address the requirements of telecom operators as well as that of strategic sector like Defense, in India. Sh. K. Rajaraman also inaugurated the Quantum Communication Lab at C-DOT, Delhi and unveiled the indigenously developed Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) solution by C-DOT which can support more than 100 kilometers on standard optical fiber. Development of indigenous QKD solution is essential to address the threat that rapid advancement in Quantum Computing poses to the security of the data being transported by various critical sectors through the current communication networks. With the development of QKD solution and the existing suite of wide range of products in Optical Access, Core, Switching & Routing, Wireless, Post Quantum Cryptography Encryptors (PQCE) etc., C-DOT has become the first organization in India to offer complete portfolio of indigenous Quantum Secure telecom products & solutions to comprehensively address the requirements of Telecom Service Providers as well as Strategic and Defense sector in India.

The government on Tuesday notified its decision to permit 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route in the telecom services sector subject to certain conditions. Till now, only 49 per cent of FDI was allowed through the automatic route and anything beyond that had to come via the government route. Telcos, including infrastructure providers, will be covered under the new FDI regime. The 100 per cent FDI was part of the telecom reforms package approved by the Cabinet on September 15. Other reliefs included a four-year moratorium on AGR (Average Gross Revenue) dues, and an option for the government to convert dues into equity post the moratorium period.

The government on Tuesday notified its decision to permit 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route in the telecom services sector subject to certain conditions. Till now, only 49 per cent of FDI was allowed through the automatic route and anything beyond that had to come via the government route. Telcos, including infrastructure providers, will be covered under the new FDI regime. The 100 per cent FDI was part of the telecom reforms package approved by the Cabinet on September 15. Other reliefs included a four-year moratorium on AGR (Average Gross Revenue) dues, and an option for the government to convert dues into equity post the moratorium period.

India has submitted TBT notification - G/TBT/N/IND/218” related to 8517 - Telephone sets, including telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks “ to the World Trade Organization (WTO)  for protection of human safety and Quality. This TBT was filed by the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), under the Department of Telecommunications to notify Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecommunication Systems (MTCTE) – Phase III & IV.

In a major boost for the Department of Telecom, the made-in-India standard 5Gi is all set to be formally incorporated in the global 5G standard (3GPP). This will enable telecom equipment makers, especially the domestic players, to start using this standard to develop network gear for 5G services. According to sources, a formal agreement is expected to be announced in the coming week. The DoT has been coordinating with the global players for the incorporation of 5Gi with the 3GPP standard. 3GPP is an international body that defines the global standard for telecom sector. The new standard was developed under the supervision of Telecom Standard Development Society India and DoT with major contribution from all major IITs and IISc.

Concerned about the growing threat posed by cyber-attacks and national security threats, the government is in the process of forming a unified national-level cyber security task force with a special focus on risks posed by the telecom sector. The move comes at a time when the government is finalizing a “trusted source” list for telecom gear procurement as the country moves towards 5G and other cutting-edge telecom and immersive technologies, but insignificant purchases from China and other countries are detrimental to India’s security interests.

India is in the final stages to clear a National Cybersecurity Strategy in the wake of growing cyber-attacks and threats from nation-state actors and threats from nation-state actors against the country, national cyber security coordinator Lt. Gen. (retd) Rajesh Pant has stressed.

The telecom secretary launched the Public Procurement Policy (Make in India) portal for Telecom Products. The portal will help OEMs, Vendors, and other stakeholders to register and track their complaints. He also released the technical report on “Emerging Communication Technologies and Use Cases in IoT Domain”, a concept paper on “Optical Fibre & Cable in Indian Telecom Network”, and “TEC Handbook – 2021”, documented by IoT, Regional TECs, and RC Division of TEC, respectively. Along with the Public Procurement Policy portal, the DoT secretary also inaugurated the Nationwide MTCTE Helpdesk and Evaluation Centre infrastructure and Control Lab, situated in TEC premises.