World Trade Organization Organisation Mondiale du Commerce Organización Mundial del Comercio

(Question 6: Page 69, paragraph 105)

The Government of India amended the Unified Access Service License Agreement for security related concerns for the expansion of Telecom Services in various zones of the country on 31 May 2011. Article 41.6 A (iii) of this amendment prescribes that "[f]rom 1^st April 2013 the certification shall be made only through authorized and certified agencies/labs in India," although before 1^st April 2013 foreign labs can certify conformity. Please explain the reasons why the Government of India will narrow down the scope of certified labs.

From the beginning, regarding the conformity assessment system based on ISO/IEC standards (e.g. ISO/IEC15408 and ISO/IEC27001), mutual recognition of these conformity assessment results has already been operated and is now established by an international framework. (For ISO/IEC15408, CCRA is already in operation. For ISO/IEC27001, IAF is now establishing a multilateral recognition program.)

Japan knows that India is also joining these international frameworks. So, Japan is worried that if the Indian domestic rules which authorize only Indian agencies/laboratories come into effect in April 2013, it will be in contradiction to international rules. (If this domestic rule comes into effect, a mutual recognition system will not be able to work.)　Please describe how the government of India will deal with these problems.

Furthermore, please make clear the reason why the foreign conformity assessment body (CAB) will be excluded from the scope of certified agencies/labs. Please describe whether the government of India will accept the conformity assessment results of ISO/IEC15408 and ISO/IEC27001 by these foreign CABs. Please explain the background of this stipulation and decision making process. Even if these domestic rules come into effect in April 2013, please make sure that foreign funded CABs in India will be treated equivalently as well as Indian domestic CABs.

In addition to the questions in the previous paragraphs, Japan has two more questions about the amendment. First, Article 41.6 A (vi) stipulates that "[t]he Licensee shall … ensure that all the documentation, including software details are obtained from manufacturer/vendor/supplier in English language''. Please describe what "software details" means and the difference from the source code. Second, Article 41.6 A (viii) prescribes that ''[t]he licensee … shall ensure that the Vendor/Supplier allow the Telecom Service Provider, Licensor/DoT, and/or its designated agencies to inspect the … software." Please describe details about the inspection of software and the relationship between the deposition of a source code and this inspection.