Domestic production, security take centrestage as govt sits down to draft new electronics policy

electronic_image_slide_300_92912871

In a bid to strengthen domestic production of electronic goods and bolster security norms, the government will be drafting a new national electronics manufacturing policy.

A consultation with stakeholders will take place in the last week of September.

In recent months, the IT ministry has been taking steps to curb the flow of sub-standard electronic goods in India and to block data breaches that have become more widespread in the past year.

In August, the IT Ministry wrote to nine smartphone companies including Motorola, Honor, Asus, OnePlus, InFocus asking them to update outline security procedures.

In August, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) added 13 electronic items to the list of products under the scanner over standards, which now includes smartwatches and CCTV cameras.

Other products such as optical fingerprint scanners, USB driven barcode readers, LED/LCD TVs will also be brought under the Compulsory Registration Order (CRO), Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012.

This order states that the goods in the list will have to meet the security standards set by the government which also means that the companies won’t be allowed to sell or import any sub-standard product in the country.

These provisions will be applicable from February 2018.

Earlier this year, the government said its focus will be on reducing dependence on import of electronic goods.

A MEITY senior official  was quoted as saying that work on the new draft has already started. Moreover, the government also plans on providing skill development and funds for research.

However, some experts are skeptical about the government's measures.

“Companies are still struggling with delays in the CRO approval process resulting from bottlenecks at test labs. The addition of visual display units and video monitors with a screen size up to 32 inches alone would include over 200 separate models with multiple SKUs (stock keeping units)," Joshua Rosenberg, director, global policy, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), an advocacy and policy organization was quoted as saying.

"With India’s labs lacking the capacity to perform testing of this magnitude in a timely manner, there will be further delays in getting these essential products approved and into the hands of consumers,” he added.