The Indian government has issued changes to telecommunication operator licences requiring them to address security concenrs among their foreign network equipment suppliers. According to a report from the Economic Times, the government can impose penalties of up to 100 percent of the contract value if any spyware or malware is found in their imported equipment. International manufacturers who want to do business in India will have to deposit source codes and detailed designs of all products and services they sell in an escrow account in encrypted form. This can be accessed by security agencies and operators in case of an emergency. The new rules will be incorporated into the licence agreements of all telecommunication companies with immediate effect. The new norms published by the department of telecom were issued after security agencies and the home ministry raised concerns about imported equipment, especially those sourced from Chinese companies. They also equipment makers who maintain and manage mobile networks in India to employ only Indian engineers; they will have two years to comply with this. Vendors who maintain networks also will be subject to the country's data protection laws. This implies that they can be prosecuted in India if they are found to have leaked any information or for any security breach. The government has also asked all mobile operators to submit their organisational policy on security and security management of their networks within 30 days. Mobile operators will have to get security clearance from the home ministry and third-party audits on core equipment before they can be imported. DoT also said that it was working towards setting up the Telecom Security Council of India to help increase security assurance levels. The council would be jointly funded by the government and the telecommunication industry. The new rules will also allow the centre to lift the temporary ban on 26 companies, including Chinese OEMs such as Lenovo, Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Sunsea Telecom, UTStarcom, Tongyu Communications, Wuhan Fibrehome International, Shenzhen Grentech, Maipu Communications and Israel-based Comverse from supplying mobile gear in India. Telecommunications equipment can now be imported from these companies after audits by internationally certified network security firms.