Approximately 80 per cent of smartphones sold in India are are sourced from China. A lot of these are also based on operating systems designed in China
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has not done any audit on Chinese smartphones in India. Minister of State for MeitY Sanjay Dhotre revealed the information in a proceeding at Rajya Sabha.
Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha has asked whether the government has done any checks or studies to ascertain if China-made smartphones were sending critical information or data to the country of origin.
“Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has not conducted any such study,” noted Dhotre.
It is to be noted here that approximately 80 per cent of smartphones sold in India are are sourced from China. A lot of these are also based on operating systems designed in China.
No ban on importing electronics from China
Dhotre while replying to a query during a Lok Sabha proceeding on Monday noted that the government of India is not planning to ban the import of electronics or electronic components from China. “The government has not proposed to ban the import of electronic equipment and parts thereof from China,” said Dhotre.
He also pointed towards the steps that the government is taking to reduce India’s dependence on a single source for obtaining electronics and components. Dhotre noted that right steps are being taken to encourage local electronics manufacturing in India. The country’s administration has recently introduced electronics schemes worth Rs 50,000 crore.
The minister, citing data obtained from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), noted that India exported smartphone components worth Rs 56,039 crore during 2019-20. Out of the total amount, smartphone components worth Rs 25,441 crore were exported from China.
The total electronic component imports in India during 2019-20 was Rs 1,15,558 crore, out of which, imports from China were Rs 42,983 crore.
