India may eventually mandate security parameters for laptop, PC imports

Security parameters for laptops, PCs and tablets imported and sold in India could be on the anvil, similar to those issued for CCTV cameras starting April 2025.

The government may eventually notify security parameters for laptops, PCs and tablets imported and sold in India, as part of a larger plan to ensure that hardware components are sourced from trusted partners.

These could be similar to recent step taken for closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras that mandates 'essential security parameters' for all such devices from April 2025.

Through an amendment to the Compulsory Registration Order (CRO), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had in April 2024 notified the inclusion of key security requisites for CCTV cameras. However, the date of implementation was pushed to April 9, 2025 from October this year, after the industry sought more time to comply with the order.

“For a year, we are going ahead with the current system, so as of now, there won’t be any checks country-wise when it comes to security and quality, however, like you have CRO for CCTVs, MeitY can order that any time to bring in such checks for laptops and PCs,” a senior government official said.

To be sure, such a security mandate for laptops and related products are likely to be introduced only after December 31, 2025, when the extension allowing unrestricted imports ends, the official said.

The rationale behind mandating security checks, especially for electronic components has been to safeguard national security and ward off potential vulnerabilities.

“Securing a CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) system is crucial to protect sensitive information and ensure the system operates effectively,” MeitY had said in April 2024, while mandating security requirements for the cameras.

A similar concern was expressed when the government, in August 2023, announced restrictions on free imports of laptops, tablets, personal computers and related items. While the move was said to be largely aimed at boosting opportunities for domestic manufacturers, security concerns too had played a role.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who was at the time Minister of State, MeitY, had told Moneycontrol, “as we increase the digitisation of our economy, we certainly want to make sure that the elements of hardware that are going into the digital economy are all monitored and come from trusted sources.”

However, this decision was promptly set aside given concerns raised by global tech giants like Dell, Acer, Samsung, Panasonic, Apple, Lenovo, and HP, who argued that the measure would impact their operations.

This then gave way to the 'import management system,' in October 2023 allowing unrestricted imports of laptops, PCs and laptops. After the latest extension, the import system remains in place till December 31, 2025.