[Source: Reuters]

Global makers of surveillance gear have clashed with Indian regulators in recent weeks over contentious new security rules that require manufacturers of CCTV cameras to submit hardware, software and source code for assessment in government labs, official documents and company emails show.

The security-testing policy has sparked industry warnings of supply disruptions and added to a string of disputes between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration and foreign companies over regulatory issues and what some perceive as protectionism.

New Delhi’s approach is driven in part by its alarm about China’s sophisticated surveillance capabilities, according to a top Indian official involved in the policymaking. In 2021, Modi’s then-junior IT minister told parliament that 1 million cameras in government institutions were from Chinese companies and there were vulnerabilities with video data transferred to servers abroad.

Under the new requirements applicable from April, manufacturers such as China’s Hikvision (002415.SZ), opens new tab, Xiaomi (1810.HK), opens new tab and Dahua (002236.SZ), opens new tab, South Korea’s Hanwha, and Motorola Solutions (MSI.N), opens new tab of the U.S. must submit cameras for testing by Indian government labs before they can sell them in the world’s most populous nation.

The policy applies to all internet-connected CCTV models made or imported since April 9.

“There’s always an espionage risk,” Gulshan Rai, India’s cybersecurity chief from 2015 to 2019, told Reuters. “Anyone can operate and control internet-connected CCTV cameras sitting in an adverse location. They need to be robust and secure.”

Indian officials met on April 3 with executives of 17 foreign and domestic makers of surveillance gear, including Hanwha, Motorola, Bosch, Honeywell and Xiaomi, where many of the manufacturers said they weren’t ready to meet the certification rules and lobbied unsuccessfully for a delay, according to the official minutes.

In rejecting the request, the government said India’s policy “addresses a genuine security issue” and must be enforced, the minutes show.

India said in December the CCTV rules, which do not single out any country by name, aimed to “enhance the quality and cybersecurity of surveillance systems in the country.”

This report is based on a Reuters review of dozens of documents, including records of meetings and emails between manufacturers and Indian IT ministry officials, and interviews with six people familiar with India’s drive to scrutinize the technology.

The interactions haven’t been previously reported.

Insufficient testing capacity, drawn-out factory inspections and government scrutiny of sensitive source code were among key issues camera makers said had delayed approvals and risked disrupting unspecified infrastructure and commercial projects.

“Millions of dollars will be lost from the industry, sending tremors through the market,” Ajay Dubey, Hanwha’s director for South Asia, told India’s IT ministry in an email on April 9.

The IT ministry and most of the companies identified by Reuters didn’t respond to requests for comment about the discussions and the impact of the testing policy.

The ministry told the executives on April 3 that it may consider accrediting more testing labs.

Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.