The Indian government has finalized PLI norms for the telecom and network equipment manufacturing. The cabinet had recently approved the broader PLI scheme worth Rs 12,200 crore (€1.4 billion) to boost local manufacturing of telecom gear for both the domestic market and exports. The scheme will cover core transmission equipment, 4G/5G and next-generation radio access network and wireless equipment, access, and customer premise equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) access devices, and enterprise equipment such as switches and router.

Telecom gear vendors like Nokia, Huawei and ZTE have said that TEC’s move to put mandatory testing and certification for wireline equipment on hold will impact deployments in the country. The Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC) informed all vendors through notices that certifications issued have been put on hold till further notice due to “anomaly” found in the process of phase-II of Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecommunication Equipment (MTCTE) regime. Under the phase-2, telecom equipment makers were supposed to get certification for transmission terminal equipment, passive optical network family (PON) of broadband equipment and feedback devices.
 

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The government has started inviting applications for the second round of large-scale electronics manufacturing under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme with focus on some electronic components like motherboards boards   semiconductor devices, among others. The application window for the scheme has been opened till March 31 which may be further extended, as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity).

The Indian government has finalized PLI norms for the telecom and network equipment manufacturing. The cabinet had recently approved the broader PLI scheme worth Rs 12,200 crore (€1.4 billion)  to boost local manufacturing of telecom gear for both the domestic market and exports. The scheme will cover core transmission equipment, 4G/5G and next-generation radio access network and wireless equipment, access and customer premise equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) access devices, and enterprise equipment such as switches and router.The Indian government has finalized PLI norms for the telecom and network equipment manufacturing. The cabinet had recently approved the broader PLI scheme worth Rs 12,200 crore (€1.4 billion)  to boost local manufacturing of telecom gear for both the domestic market and exports. The scheme will cover core transmission equipment, 4G/5G and next-generation radio access network and wireless equipment, access and customer premise equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) access devices, and enterprise equipment such as switches and router.

The key sectors which attracted the maximum of these inflows include services segment, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction, automobile, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. FDI equity inflows into India crossed the USD 500 billion milestone during April 2000 to September 2020 period, firmly establishing the country's credentials as a safe and key investment destination in the world. According to the data of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the inflows during the period stood at USD 500.12 billion. About 29% of the FDI came through the Mauritius route. It was followed by Singapore (21 %), the US, the Netherlands, Japan (each 7%), and UK (6 %).

The DoT has directed to give preference to locally produced cybersecurity products in public procurement. “Preference has to be given to ‘Make in India’ cyber security products in public procurement by central ministries/departments, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and government organisations,” the DoT said in a circular issued. The development came after the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology said that it was awash with complaints from droves of indigenous cyber product companies about the challenges, they were facing in participating in public procurement of such products.

With the aim of taking the lead in implementing 5G, India’s ongoing project to set up ‘Indigenous 5G Test Bed’ which was launched in March 2018, with a total cost of 224.01 million, is expected to be ready by October, 2021 to improve the national capability in telecommunications technology, which fills the Indian telecommunications manufacturers. To provide test beds full access for research teams to work on new concepts or ideas that have potential for standardization in India and on a global scale, make a test bed available for Indian operators to understand the workings of 5G technologies and security aspects and to plan their future. networks are among the main objectives of the ‘5G Test Bed’.

DoT is likely to issue guidelines on implementation of production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for manufacturers in the sector and start inviting applications for the same. Telecom gear makers firms such as Ericsson and Nokia are keen to expand their operations in India, and global companies like Samsung, Cisco, Ciena and Foxconn have "shown interest" to set up manufacturing bases in the country for telecom and networking products for domestic and export markets. "Telecom PLI has already been approved by the government. The DoT is ready with guidelines to implement it, application format, incentive allocation, etc.

The government eased the path for 5G rollout in the country by reducing to six months the notice period for offering any new technology using the spectrum being put up for auction in March. Earlier, the Telecom department DoT has asked telecom operators to give one year notice before starting any technology using spectrum across the seven frequency bands that will be offered in auction on March 1. "In case of switching over to different technology while rolling out the networks for compliance of roll out obligations, information regarding the new technology should be given at least six months before any new technology base station is offered for testing," the amendment in the spectrum auction clause released by the DoT said.