In an expected move, the Indian government is set to remove the ban imposed on import of Chinese-make telecom gear.

Such telecom gear will now be required to have certification from international security audit firms. This process is for the interim (12 months) till the country has its own certifying lab.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also approved the move.

Under the new arrangement the International Certification Agency will visit the plant of the vendor and subsequently give security clearance as per criteria. Operators will be required to give a bank guarantee to the DoT.

If any security threat is detected in the gear, operators will be liable to forfeit their bank guarantee and may also face criminal proceedings.

The development will provide a big breather to Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE who have been finding it difficult to record any sales in the Indian market for the past few months.

Service providers who have recently bagged 3G spectrum will also find the development very fruitful as it will now allow them to explore 3G telecom gear from Chinese vendors as well.