On January 29, 2025, the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) of India published an addendum numbered No. 5-5/2024-TC/TEC, announcing that the NB-IoT interface test parameter exemption has been extended until June 30, 2025 or further notice.

Click this link to view the original TEC Addendum.

On January 1, 2025, the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) of India issued a notice to accept RF test reports issued by ILAC accredited laboratories from non-border sharing countries for some product technical parameters under the MTCTE framework, which is valid until June 30, 2025. Only test reports within two years of the date of issue will be accepted.

Related products include:

• MTCTE Phase III: Base station up to 4G;
• MTCTE Phase IV: SIM & VHF UHF Wireless System;
• MTCTE Phase V: 5G Bbase sation and E-Band Fixed Wireless Relay System (Note: E-band is the 71-86GHz band).

Click this link to view the original notice issued by TEC.

On December 6, 2024, India's National Communications Security Centre (NCCS) issued a notice announcing that Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and Optical Line Terminal (OLT) products can be certified under the Voluntary Security Certification (VSC) regime until 31 March 2025. From April 1, 2025, these products must pass the ITSAR mandatory certification under the ComSec program.

Click this link can be found in the original notice.

On November 29, 2024, India's National Communications Security Centre (NCCS) issued a memorandum informing that cloud-implemented IP routers and Wi-Fi CPEs will be exempt from security certification until May 31, 2025.

Click this link to view the original memorandum .

On October 24, 2024, India's National Communications Security Centre (NCCS) published amendments to the Wi-Fi CPE ITSAR. Wi-Fi CPE ITSAR has been revised to accommodate the technical changes that split the Wi-Fi CPE into legacy configurations and Wi-Fi CPE components hosted in the cloud.

Click on this link to view the original NCCS revision announcement.

On October 29, 2024, the Indian Telecommunications Engineering Centre (TEC) published an addendum on the standards for the certification of telecommunication equipment with special test requirements under the MTCTE. The appendix includes satellite communications equipment that, as long as it meets the operational standards mentioned in the Notice, has the same certification requirements as the Notification No. 6-6/2021-TC/TEC (Pt. II), i.e., alternatives to discontinued products are exempt from MTCTE.

Click on the link to view the original addendum.

On September 19, 2024, the Telecommunications Engineering Centre of India (TEC) issued a notice announcing the amendment to Article 5.4 of the Test and Certification Procedures v3.0 of MTCTE (TEC 93009:2024). The updated terms indicate that a combination of individual devices manufactured to form a system will not be certified under MTCTE, but rather that each individual device should be certified individually.

Click this link to view the original TEC notice.

On July 19, 2024, the National Centre for Communications Security (NCCS) of India issued a notice announcing the commencement of mandatory security certification (MSC) for 5G Session Management Functions (SMFs) from January 1, 2025.

The 5G SMF voluntary security certification, which will take effect from June 1, 2024, will end on December 31, 2024.

Click this link to view the original notification.

On July 1, 2024, the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) of India issued a notice extending the mandatory certification date for 5 categories of products (ERs) below MTCTE Phase III, Phase IV and Phase V to October 1, 2024: Smart Meters (Phase III), Satellite Communication Equipment (Phase IV), 5G Cellular Base Stations (Phase V), Hipervisor (Phase V), IP Terminals (Phase V). In addition, the final acceptance date of test reports issued by signatories to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) for non-land-bordering countries will be extended to September 30, 2024 for 5 types of products: 4G and below base stations, 5G base stations, SIM, VHF/UHF wireless equipment and E-band fixed wireless relay systems.

Click this link to view the original announcement.

On 20 May 2024, India's Directorate General of External Trade (DGFT) issued Circular No. 13/2024-25 amending the provisions on the importation of electronic and IT products in the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 and the ITC HS 2022 Schedule 1 Import Policy. Emphasise that electronic and IT products, whether imported as new or second-hand, must be registered with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and comply with BIS labelling requirements prior to importation. The version of the BIS Compulsory Registration Scheme has been updated from 2012 to 2021.

Click this link to view the original notification.