The Indian government has stepped in to clear the air after reports suggested that smartphone makers could soon be forced to hand over their source code as part of a new security push. Calling these claims incorrect, the government said no such proposal is on the table and that the current discussions are being misunderstood.
In a public clarification posted by the PIB Fact Check account on X, the government directly countered a Reuters report that claimed India was planning to mandate source code sharing by smartphone brands. According to PIB, the claim is false. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has not proposed any measure that would compel companies to share their source code with the government.
What is actually happening, the government explained, is a routine consultation process. MeitY has begun discussions with industry stakeholders to explore a suitable regulatory framework for mobile security. These consultations are part of the usual process followed before introducing or updating safety and security standards. Officials stressed that no final rules have been framed so far, and any future framework will only come after detailed discussions with the industry.
The clarification comes after a Reuters report said India was considering a wide set of new security requirements for smartphones, including access to source code, alerts to the government about major software updates, and other software-level changes. The report added that these proposed standards had triggered internal resistance from global smartphone giants such as Apple and Samsung, with companies arguing that such measures could expose sensitive proprietary information and have no global precedent.
The Reuters report linked the proposed security standards to the government’s broader push to improve user data protection in India, especially as online fraud and data breaches continue to rise in one of the world’s largest smartphone markets. It cited unnamed sources and confidential documents, claiming that the requirements were part of draft Indian Telecom Security Assurance Requirements prepared in 2023 and now being considered for legal backing.
Government officials, however, have urged caution in reading too much into these discussions. IT Secretary S. Krishnan told Reuters earlier that it was “premature” to draw conclusions and that any genuine concerns raised by the industry would be addressed with an open mind. A ministry spokesperson also said detailed comments could not be shared as consultations with companies were still ongoing.
The Reuters report also outlined several other measures that were reportedly being discussed, such as allowing users to uninstall pre-loaded apps, limiting background access to cameras and microphones, mandatory malware scanning, advance intimation of software updates to a government body, and storing system logs on devices for up to a year. Industry body MAIT, which represents several global smartphone brands in India, was cited as opposing many of these ideas, arguing that they could affect user experience, battery life, and software rollout timelines.
