DoT amends Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on 31st August 2021 amended Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017- Notification of Telecom Goods, Services or Works through a Gazette notification. The PPP-MII order issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in 2017 is aimed at encouraging ‘Make in India’ and promoting manufacturing and production of goods and services in India with a view to enhancing income and employment.

DoT is the nodal Department identified by DIPP to implement the provisions related to the procurement of goods, services, or works related to the telecommunication sector. The amendment to the PPP-MII order has been issued to declare certain telecom products, services or works are having sufficient local capacity and local competition.

The Telecom Department has declared the following telecom products, services or works are having sufficient local capacity and local competition;

• Encryption/UTM platforms
• IP/ MPLS Core routers/ Edge/Aggregation/ Enterprise Router
• Ethernet Switches (L2 and L3)
• IP based Soft Switches, IMS, Unified Communication Systems
• Wireline PABXs / IP PBX
• Customer Premises Equipment (CPEs) (including Wi-Fi Access points, low capacity Routers, Media Converters)
• Leased-line Modems n* 2Mbps / IP
• GPON equipment (including ONT and OLT)
• SDH/ PDH Cross Connects
• Small Size LTE/ LTE-R Based Mobile Systems, with its various derivatives
• Wi-Fi-based broadband wireless access systems indoor & Outdoor (Including Access Point, Aggregation Block, Core Block)
• Wi-Fi Access Controller (with interoperability and multi-vendor AP support)
• Radio systems (IP/ Hybrid)
• Repeaters (RF/RF-over-Optical), IBS and Distributed Antenna systems (indoor / outdoor) including Active & Passive Accessories
• Satellite Phones (S Bands )
• Disaster Communication Systems etc., including backpack satellite products (S Band)
• Telecom Network Management systems (NMS) with its various derivatives
• Optical Fibre
• Optical Fibre Cable
• Telecom Power System (Including Solar Power)
• Telecom Batteries (Lead Acid & Li-ion)

The list includes 25 product categories with DoT stating that it will review the list from time to time to keep up with improved production capabilities in the country. DoT also clarified that “if Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) and testing from imported/domestically manufactured parts and components using Surface Mounting Technology (SMT) process is done in India, then imported/domestically manufactured parts and components will be qualified for the purpose of Local Content. This shall be reviewed when the semiconductor FAB in India is operational.”