The minutes of the latest meeting of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) while deliberating on a case regarding Huawei clearly bear the government’s apprehension: “Huawei is a company founded by a People’s Liberation Army officer and the company has the capability to remotely manipulate the equipment it supplies to its clientsâ€. This piece of information on the company was communicated to the FIPB by the home ministry.
The revelation is startling and would alarm anybody with security concerns. However, it’s not the first time the government has acknowledged this bit of information. In virtually every bit of correspondence and file notings, the security agencies have for the past three-four years, been making similar observations while Huawei’s growth in the country has been on a trot. Of the country’s 14 operators, it has supplied equipment to seven and the growth has been phenomenal since 2008 when the government awarded new telecom licences. All the new entrants opted for Huawei while placing equipment orders. To top it all, state-owned BSNL and MTNL also use Huawei equipment.
