India to ban sales of Chinese CCTV brands Hikvision, TP-Link and Dahua from 1 April: Report

Indian government is set to bar Chinese video surveillance companies like Hikvision, Dahua, and TP-Link from selling internet-connected CCTV cameras starting April 1, according to a report by The Economic Times. The report notes that the government is planning to explicitly refuse to certify products manufactured by these companies or those using Chinese chipsets.

The rules state that manufacturers must explicitly declare the country of origin for critical components like the System-on-Chip. Devices must also be rigorously tested against vulnerabilities that could allow for unauthorised remote access.

As of now, only 507 CCTV camera models have successfully secured government certification.

Anup Nair, director of strategy and operations at Aditya Infotech, told the publication that a massive factory built to produce two million Hikvision cameras per month was denied certification simply because it manufactured Chinese products.

Nair also said that Hikvision was forced to form a joint venture with an Indian company and pivot away from its Chinese supply chain in order to survive in the Indian market.

Another company which is said to have been highly affected by the rules is Dahua, which was once the second-largest player in this segment but has now been reduced to selling only analogue cameras.

Even popular smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Realme have reportedly completely exited the smart home camera segment after failing to secure certification.

Indian brands like CP Plus, Qubo, Prama, Matrix, and Sparsh have all reportedly shifted their supply chains to rely heavily on Taiwanese chipsets and localised firmware.

CP Plus has emerged as the clear market leader, commanding a 45% to 50% share, up significantly from its 20% to 25% share before the regulations were notified. Meanwhile, US-based brands like Bosch and Honeywell are also said to have successfully captured the high-end portion of the market.