Old SIMs under scrutiny: India set to pull plug on Chinese-chip cards

The government is set to launch a mass replacement of old SIM cards, after a joint inquiry by the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) and the Ministry of Home Affairs found alarming evidence that some SIM cards in use could have chipsets made in China, raising serious national security issues.

- NARESH BISWANI

NEW DELHI:

The probe was initiated in the wake of increasing concern over the integrity of India's telecom network.

During the investigation, officials found that certain vendors providing SIM cards to major telecom operators, like Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), had abused the trusted source certification system. While they had initially presented themselves as procuring chipsets from reliable nations like Taiwan or Vietnam, it was subsequently found that part of these components had indeed been imported from China.