Hardware device makers slam govt's mandatory testing and certification plan

The ICEA also says that the move goes against the government's attempt to reduce obstacles to ease of doing business

Hardware device makers, such as manufacturers of mobiles, PCs, laptops, tablets, and so on, have unanimously opposed a recommendation by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that the Data Protection Authority (DPA) proposed to be set up under the draft Data Protection Bill, should regulate the monitoring, testing and certification of hardware devices.

However, the move has found favour amongst some telecom operators. In various stakeholder meetings, they have pointed out that the government has already put in place a requirement for the testing of telecom equipment to ensure that any equipment that is connected to a network comes from “trusted sources”.