G/TBT/W/582  
 
10 December 2018  
(18-7781) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
INDIA — NEW TELECOMM UNICATIONS RELATED R ULES (DEPARTMENT OF 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS, NO. 842 -725/2005 -VAS/VOL.III (3 DECEMBER  2009);  
NO. 10 -15/2009 -AS-III/193 (18 MARCH 2010 ); AND NOS. 10 -15/20 09-
AS.III/VOL.II/(PT.)/  (25-29) (28 JULY 2010 ); DEPARTMENT OF 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS, NO. 10 -15/2009 -AS.II I/VOL.II/(PT.)/(30)  
(28 JULY 2010) AND A CCOMPANYING TEMPLATE , "SECURITY AND  
BUSINESS CONTINUITY AGREEMENT")  
STATEMENT BY INDIA TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRADE  
14 AND 15  NOVEMBER  2018 
The following c ommunication, dated 7 December 2018 , is being circulated at t he request of the 
delegation of India. 
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1.  I thank the delegations of the European Union, the United States, Japan and Canada for their 
comments in the matter. In response, I would re iterate some of the points already made by India 
in previous meetings.  
2.  We have been stating again and again that the Telecom Networks are a part of the Critical 
Infrastructure on which other critical infrastructures like power, transportation, defence etc . also 
ride. It has also been clarified in past that India would rely on the International Standards to the 
extent possible. If a product is IT product, testing carried out against CC Process under CCRA will 
be leveraged. However, some additional tests may  be conducted, if required in the interest of 
national security and public interest.  
3.  In its earlier intervention, India had mentioned that CC is process based and is used for Certifying 
the claims of the vendor about the security features incorporated in his product without certifying 
that it has no vulnerabilities/backdoors. The common Criteria certification does not address National 
Concerns on the Security requirement of Telecom Networks.  
4.  So far as in -country testing requirement and the security certifi cation thereof is concerned, it is 
informed that these guidelines cannot be treated as trade barriers in view of the fact that the 
guidelines are equally applicable to the manufacturers/vendors irrespective of the source of 
procurement including the domest ic manufacturers.  
5.  Earlier it was also brought to the notice of the Members that India had notified Mandatory Testing 
and Certification of Telecommunication Equipment (MTCTE), which was scheduled to come into effect 
from 1 October 2018. Under the scheme, al l telecom equipment, whether imported or indigenously 
manufactured, are to be tested and certified against Essential Requirements (ERs) notified by 
Telecom Engineering centre (TEC). The ERs include EMI/ EMC, Safety, Technical requirements, SAR 
requirements  and Security requirements.  
6.  The testing is carried out with the objective of ensuring that the radio frequency emissions from 
the equipment are within prescribed limits, the equipment does not degrade the performance of the 
network to which it is connected , and complies with the relevant national regulations. Quality and 
performance are not tested and certified under MTCTE. The ERs are based upon international 
standards with suitable modifications so that these are compliant with Indian requirements and 
regulations. The testing of telecom products is to be carried out in Indian Accredited Labs designated 
by Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), called designated Conformance Assessment Bodies (CABs) or G/TBT/W/582  
 
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  recognized CABs of Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) partner  countries. Based upon their test 
reports, certificate shall be issued by TEC. A mechanism of surveillance is also included in the 
scheme.  
7.  With regard to the date from which the listed telecom products would require security testing, 
TEC in the Department of Telecom has issued a notification bearing No. TEC/10/2018 -TC dated 
27 September 2018, wherein the deadline for implementation of different sets of products have been 
mentioned. This notification is available in the public domain and can be downloaded fr om the 
website www.tec.gov.in . 
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