Reforms in mandatory testing to have cascading effect on growth of electronics, telecom sectors: MAIT

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s reforms for the mandatory testing and certification of certain products will have a cascading effect on the growth of the electronics and telecom sectors, according to the Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT).

Recently, the telecom department has moved certain products such as routers, cordless phones, transmission terminal equipment, LAN switches, and access points, among others from mandatory testing to a self-certification regime under Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE), in a bid to boost broadband penetration in the country.

These changes will come into effect from January 1, 2023, and are expected to help companies reduce the time taken to test and certify a product before it is sold in the market. Currently, devices like routers are primarily imported from countries including China.

“This shift has resulted in the reduction of the certification timeline by months, and also the high cost of certification for each product,” said Harish Krishnan, Chairman, MAIT Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Committee.

Krishnan added that the industry has been working to ensure compliance with the timeline of mandatory certification of specific telecom and networking equipment by July 1, 2023.

“Recent government reforms are expected to have a cascading effect on the growth of the electronics and telecom sectors – from reforming telecom equipment testing and certification to reducing overlaps in electronics and telecom regulations, among others,” he said.

Delhi-based MAIT is the apex industry body representing the electronic hardware sector in India. It counts Acer, Cisco, Dell, HP, Intel and Samsung among others as its members.

“MAIT believes that active consultation with the industry is the key to resolving some of the regulatory challenges that India currently faces,” said Col AA Jafri, Retd., Acting Director General MAIT.

Jafri added that the industry body aims to work with the government to ensure that regulations like these strengthen India’s capability while proliferating broadband and 5G services in India.