India's telecoms regulator has called for the implementation of tariffs on some telecoms equipment, to support an ambitious target of having zero net telecom equipment imports by 2022.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has also proposed setting up a 10 billion rupee ($145.3 million) fund that would support the local manufacturing sector and incentivize use of local networking components, the Economic Timesreported.
According to the regulator, despite the government's effort to stimulate the local telecoms manufacturing sector, more than 90% of equipment used in the market is imported.
India is a signatory to the World Trade Organization's Information Technology Agreement (ITA-1), which involves a commitment to implement zero tariffs on 217 electronic items including mobile phones. But the country has no obligation to allow duty free imports of components outside this list.
According to the report, Trai is particularly advocating tariffs on costly and mostly imported items such as switches, routers, base stations, multiplexing gear and antennae.
The new 10 billion rupee fund would meanwhile be used to promote R&D, standardization design, testing, certification and manufacturing of home-grown telecoms equipment.
The regulator is seeking to eliminate the Indian industry's reliance on imported equipment, and to establish India as a leading provider of telecoms equipment.
Besides the financial motive, the report cites one network equipment manufacturer's CEO as stating that importing telecoms equipment has national security implications.