‘No licensing regime’: ​Curbs on IT hardware will ensure less dependence on China, says MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar | India News

NEW DELHI: In a significant relief to global IT hardware manufacturers, minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday said there were never any plans to introduce a licensing regime on import of IT hardware and that the Centre’s only intention is to regulate inbound shipments of products through an “import management system” so that India’s supply of IT hardware is not dependent on imports, most of which come from China.
Speaking at the Times of India‘s ‘Right To Excellence – Tech Summit‘, Chandrasekhar said there was miscommunication about the government’s intention. “There will be no imposition of licensing requirements. Instead, India will look to regulate inbound shipments of products through an import management system,” he said.
‘Trusted supply chain’
“Currently, the supply chain for IT hardware in India is dependent on 80% imports, mostly from China. This is something that the government wants to change and ensure that the supply chain becomes more domestic and India-focused … and any country that we consider as trusted. Trust and resilience of the supply chain that supplies India’s digital ecosystem is what is being redesigned,” the minister said.
“We are bringing in an import management system that allows companies to import hardware without any licences but encourages them to increasingly use domestic manufacturing capabilities to make the supply chain more India-centric,” said Chandrasekhar.
“There is no such thing as licensing that is being introduced,” he said, adding: “Under PM Narendra Modi, there will never be a licensing regime.”
The minister further said that if a company insists on importing from “geographies that are not trusted” then the government may impose additional conditions on the equipment coming inside the country.
Electronics manufacturing sector
Highlighting India’s burgeoning electronics manufacturing sector, Chandrasekhar said: “In 2014, there was almost zero electronics manufacturing and about 82% of all mobile phones used to be imported. Today, we manufacture almost all the phones consumed here. Last year alone we exported 1 lakh crore phones, this year the figure is likely to increase by 20%,” said the minister.
“This gives us confidence to broaden and deepen the manufacturing sector to include other hardware down the road,” he added.
‘India preferred destination over China’
Talking about India’s ability to dethrone China as the global hub for electronics manufacturing, the minister said two factors have worked in India’s favour.
“Post-Covid, the world is relooking at supply chains not just from the point of view of cost. Earlier, the only determinant was cost and therefore China scored in the last 30 years. Today, its cost plus trust and resilience, which makes India the preferred destination,” said the minister.
“The second factor is that India’s own digitisation is so rapid that our domestic demand is skyrocketing and we are ourselves are the largest market for these products,” he added.
The minister further said India is in a position to take advantage of these factors because the government has set up policies in the last five years to gradually build up manufacturing capacity. “If the factors had aligned but the government had done nothing in the last few years, then all this would have gone to Vietnam or some other country,” said Chandrasekhar.
On regulation and accountability
Talking about the Digital India Bill, the minister said consultations on the draft legislation will begin by early October but there is no set timeline on when the legislation will be introduced in Parliament as all stakeholders will be invited to give their suggestions.
Chandrasekhar said India is becoming an economy focussed on excellence and innovation, and becoming global champions in the digital economy.

“India is today the largest connected democracy in the world. We have 83 crore people using the Internet, which will increase to 120 crore by 2025-26. But not all the people using the internet are digitally-literate,” he added.
“The Internet today is a lifeline for crores of people and in that context it is important that the Internet be free of market distortions as well as safe and trusted so that any Internet nagrik feels he/she is operating in a safe space. It is also important that there be accountability on the part of service and product providers,” said the MoS.
The minister affirmed there needs to be more accountability as a reciprocal concept between those who use and those who provide a digital product.
“Big tech have gotten away for decades without being accountable to the consumer that they serve and profit from. We are trying to change this and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act was one such move,” he said.
Digital India Bill
Chandrasekhar added that consultations will soon begin on the successor legislation to the IT Act, which will be called the Digital India Act. “We believe that the Bill will create an accountability framework to safeguard the Internet Nagrik.”
Speaking about the Digital India Act, the minister said that none of the changes will be abrupt as the Centre does not want chaos. “We want to transition from a regime of weak accountability to one that ensures balanced accountability. Our goal is to ensure this transition is smooth.”
“Consultation on the Digital India Bill will begin by early October but there is no set timeline on when the legislation will be introduced in Parliament as all stakeholders will be invited to give their suggestions,” he added.
The Digital India Bill is set to replace India’s existing Information Technology Act (IT Act) of 2000. This new legislation has been designed to establish comprehensive oversight over India’s digital landscape, effectively tackling contemporary challenges like cybercrime, data protection, deepfakes, competition among internet platforms, online safety, and the negative impact of artificial intelligence.