India to ensure trusted supply chain for digital ecosystem, IT Ministry

India is determined to ensure a trusted supply chain for its digital ecosystem and will not compromise on the security of the internet, an IT Ministry official said on Wednesday, after the U.S., China and Korea raised concerns over the decision to impose import curbs on laptops and computers at a recent WTO meeting.

These concerns were flagged in the meeting of the WTO Committee on Market Access. It was chaired by Renata Crisaldo of Paraguay on Oct. 16 in Geneva.

India is determined to ensure a trusted supply chain for its digital ecosystem and will not compromise on the security of the internet, an IT Ministry official said on Wednesday, after the U.S., China and Korea raised concerns over the decision to impose import curbs on laptops and computers at a recent WTO meeting.

These concerns were flagged in the meeting of the WTO Committee on Market Access. It was chaired by Renata Crisaldo of Paraguay on Oct. 16 in Geneva.

On Aug. 3, India imposed import restrictions on a host of IT hardware products such as laptops, personal computers (including tablet computers), microcomputers, large or mainframe computers, and certain data processing machines with a view to boosting domestic manufacturing and cutting imports from countries like China.

The regime would come into effect from Nov. 1.

However, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal last week said that India will not impose licensing requirements on imports but will only monitor their inbound shipments.

The U.S. has stated that the decision will have an impact on the trade of these products, including U.S. exports to India, once they are implemented. America has also said that the decision is creating uncertainty for exporters and downstream users. PTI