GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2060
TO BE ANSWERED ON AUGUST 19, 2011
Telecom Equipment Testing Facility

2060. SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR:

Will the minister of communications and information technology be pleased to state:-

(a)    Whether Government has decided to set up a certifying centre at the Indian institute of science (IISc) Bangalore to test all telecom equipment before installation in the country;

(b)   Whether Government has agreed to signing to an MoU between IISc and a Chinese telecom company, whose owner is unknown and against whom allegations of Industrial espionage are pending in various international courts;

(c)    If so, the details thereof and the reasons for allowing such an MoU which could be detrimental to national security; and

(d)   The remedial measures Government proposes to take in this regard?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI MILIND DEORA)

(a)   To (d) Sir, to take care of national security concerns related to telecom network, Government has issued the amendment to various telecom licenses on 31.05.2011, wherein it is mandated that all network elements should be tested and certified as ‘safe to connect’ before inducting these into network. For carrying out these tests, it is essential to know the details of the equipment, which are to be tested and develop the tests for security testing of these equipments.

In this regard, IISc, Bengaluru has been assigned the task of developing the tests on telecom equipment. The test cannot be developed without knowing the technical details. IISc, Bengaluru has entered into a nondisclosure agreement with Huawei to know these details since these are commercially sensitive information. The steps of license amendment of 31.05.2011 and agreement of IISc with Huawei have been taken to improve the security environment.