Lok Sabha Question No. 6197 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-01
Subject: Imports of Telecom Instruments
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Adv Gowaal Kagada Padavi, Shri Vishaldada Prakashbapu Patil, Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh, Ms. Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6197 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01 ST  APRIL, 2026

## IMPORTS OF TELECOM INSTRUMENTS

## 6197.   DR. BACHHAV SHOBHA DINESH: SHRI VISHALDADA PRAKASHBAPU PATIL: ADV GOWAAL KAGADA PADAVI: MS. PRANITI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that Indian imports of telecom instruments have grown at an annual rate of 7% in the five-year period from 2019-20 to 2023-24, with almost 40% of 4G/5G equipment and antennas coming from China and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  under  'Make  in  India'  for  boosting  the  domestic manufacturing of telecom instruments;

(c) the details of steps taken by the Government to control the high costs of testing, compliance and certification for MSMEs; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government to incentivise investment for research, development, and intellectual property rights for telecom components and their local manufacturers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) The imports under the principal commodity 'telecom instruments' have increased from USD 13,333 million in 2019-20 to 17,010 million in 2023-24. Further, the import from China during the period has increased from USD 5,553 million to 6,371 million.

(b) The Government has undertaken several initiatives under 'Make in India' to boost domestic manufacturing of telecom instruments, including:

-  The Government of India introduced Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) order to  give  preference  in  Government  procurement  for  goods  and  services  which  meet  the minimum domestic value addition criteria thereby encouraging indigenous production.
-  PLI Scheme for Telecom and Networking Products to promote domestic manufacturing of 33 telecom equipment categories including 4G/5G equipment, routers, switches, customer premise equipments etc.;
-  Production  Linked  Incentive  (PLI)  Scheme  for  Large  Scale  Electronics  Manufacturing (LSEM) to promote manufacturing of mobile phones and specified electronic components, leading to significant growth in production and exports; and

-  Electronics  Components  Manufacturing  Scheme  (ECMS)  to  strengthen  the  domestic component ecosystem and reduce import dependency.

(c) The Government has taken several steps to reduce the burden of testing, compliance and certification, particularly for MSMEs, including:

-  Waiver of evaluation fee under the Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecommunication Equipment (MTCTE);
-  Enhancement of validity of MTCTE certificates from 5 years to 10 years; and
-  Reimbursement of part of testing and certification charges for certain types of entities.

(d) The Government has taken several steps to incentivise investment for research, development, and intellectual property rights for telecom components and their local manufacturer, including:

-  Launched the Digital Communication Innovation Square (DCIS) scheme in the year 2021-22 to  provide  financial  assistance  to  Start-ups  and  MSMEs  for  research,  development, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) creation and manufacturing, leading to development of market ready telecom products.
-  Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) was launched on 1st October 2022 under the Digital Bharat Nidhi (erstwhile Universal Service Obligation Fund) to support investment in  research,  development, and intellectual property  rights in communication technologies. These schemes promote collaboration among academia, startups, research institutions and industry, and aim to foster innovation and development of indigenous telecom technologies in the country.

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