The telecom department (DoT) will work with the Department of Electronics & IT and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) to establish testing standards and procedures for telecom gear, which will be necessary in addition to CCRA certification, says a confidential note circulated by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). Read More

The telecom department (DoT) is likely to ask Wipro to set up a state-of-the-art lab in India to test network gear used by mobile phone companies as it has failed to reach an agreement on the proposed funding model with Tech Mahindra, which had earlier evinced an interest to set up such a lab. Wipro is learnt to have also communicated to DoT that the minimum cost of setting up such a test lab would be $50-$100 million (275- 550 crore). DoT wants to hasten the test lab venture, which has been delayed for three years. In fact, it was recently compelled to extend the deadline from April 1 to October 31, 2013, for mobile phone companies who have been mandated to only use telecom gear tested by an authorized lab in India. Read More

The home ministry will shortly unveil comprehensive guidelines to screen imported electronics, IT and telecom gear deemed “security sensitive” in its bid to secure India’s core information infrastructure. It has identified eight categories of electronics — including, cameras, radars, routers, base stations, devices used for data storage/transmission, general computers and biometric/access control devices that will be subject to a stringent security drill if procured from overseas markets, according to internal ministerial documents. Read More

The World Bank is providing $50 million to the government’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to produce five million super-energy efficient fans that would help India save 100mw power every day. Read More

Indian government plans to roll out a Rs 43,000-crore (Appx. 6.15 Billion EURO)‘green energy corridor’ project to facilitate the flow of renewable energy into the national grid. The blueprint for the project has been submitted to the Power Ministry by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL). For implementation, the project would be split into intra- and inter-State, said a senior Power Ministry official. “Germany has committed developmental and technical assistance of €1 billion for the project,” the official said. Read More

India Smart Grid Market to Reach $1.5B by 2015. ‘Institutional Framework for Smart Grid Development in India’. Read More

Indian Standards on LED are published by BIS.

The “Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012” will come into effect from 3rd July 2013. Read More

Indian electrical equipment industry registered a negative growth of eight% in 2012-13, for the first time in ten years. Sluggish demand, higher imports and absence of protective policy resulted in this de-growth, said industry body Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA). Read More

Govt, Industry readies plan to Power up Electrical Gear Market in India: A 10-year Indian Electrical Equipment Mission Plan till 2022 has identified five areas of concern: competitiveness, technology upgrade, skills development, exports and conversion of latent demand. Five committees consisting of representatives from equipment makers and various ministries have created a road map for strategic and policy interventions. Read More