Giving 5G trial to Huawei a major setback for sector: Niti member

Gandhinagar: Dr V K Saraswat, a member of Niti Aayog — the policy thinktank of the Government of India — on Saturday said that the country should focus on developing capacity in 5G technology.

He expressed his apprehension about awarding the trial of 5G technology to a Chinese major. The move by top officials had sparked a debate in 2019 over security concerns. Dr Saraswat was the chief guest at the 16th convocation of DAIICT in Gandhinagar.

“Developing indigenous electronics components should be our main focus. Many Indian companies perform ‘screwdriver assembly’ to maintain competitive costs,” Dr Saraswat said.

“Hardware is becoming a major threat to cyber security. We don’t know what malware is embedded. I believe the permission granted to the Chinese company Huawei for the 5G trial is a major setback.”