CAIT urges not to include Huawei, ZTE in bidding for 5G network in India

Amid growing tensions between Indian and China, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged Union Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad not to include Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corporation in the bidding for 5G network in India.

In a letter to the Minister, National General Secretary of CAIT, Praveen Khandelwal, has said, that 7 crore traders of the Country request the Government not to allow Huawei and ZTE Corporation to participate in the 5G network rollout process in the country.

The traders' body asserted that 5G mobile network promises super-fast download speeds and the ability to support critical infrastructure. Therefore it is more critical from the point of accruing data. He emphasised that several Countries including the USA and Australia have already barred both Huawei and ZTE Corporation. These two Chinese entities were charged with a list of crimes including conspiracy, money laundering, bank and wire fraud.

The Traders body, CAIT, launched a nation-wide campaign called 'Bharatiya Saaman-Hamara Abhiman'. It calls for the boycott of Chinese products in the wake of India-China standoff along LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

During their campaign, CIAT had earlier written an open letter to Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and other 50 Indian industrialists to participate in their campaign to promote the country's efforts in being Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant).

Besides, the CAIT has set a target of reducing imports from China by a value of 13 billion dollars, i.e. approximately Rs 1 Lakh crore by December 2021 with the cooperation of traders & citizens of India. Currently, the annual imports from China stand at $70 billion or Rs 5.25 lakh crore.