The government may go to the extent of asking foreign handset makers to set up servers in India as the next step in ensuring the protection of user data, following concerns about security breaches, especially as most Chinese smartphone vendors have servers in their home country.
Officials in the electronics and IT ministry said while the issue of apps sweeping up excessive user data was worrying, the broader issue remained that of the security of information that could be going to third parties outside the country.
The government has already asked 21 smartphone companies, most of them Chinese, for protocols used by them by August 28 to ensure the security of mobile phones sold in the country.
Chinese handset makers led by Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Lenovo and Gionee account for more than half of India’s $10 billion smartphone market, with most of these companies having servers in China. Xiaomi has its servers in Singapore and the US.
Another official highlighted the twin issues that the government is trying to address through its directive to the smartphone companies. The first is that the data being collected from users after their consent through apps is disproportional to what’s needed to enable such functions.
The government’s directive on smartphones, coming amid heightened tension on the border with China, is part of a wider move to prevent any crippling cyber attacks that could be launched on the country’s telecom and power transmission sectors. Reports said India has also objected to Chinese firm Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group’s proposed $1.3 billion buyout of Gland Pharma. Besides that, India recently imposed anti-dumping duties on 93 Chinese product.
The government’s latest move has come amid tension on the border with China and concern over growing imports of IT and telecom products from the neighboring country on the grounds that this could potentially allow backdoor access to critical information.
A recent Confederation of Indian Industry study said that Chinese investment in India’s electronics and information technology products sector is worth nearly $22 billion.
By Baishakhi Dutta
