India's Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) seeks to bar Chinese technology companies Huawei and ZTE from participating in the deployment of 5G network business, Indian media reported.
"Huawei and ZTE Corporation of China should be banned from participating in 5G network rollout in India. It is also urged that technology and equipment of both Huawei and ZTE Corporation should be banned for use in 5G network rollout by any company," CAIT said in a letter to India's Minister of Communications and Information Industry Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday.
The traders' group also cited the example of the UK's ban on Huawei equipment, and claimed that the move would play a "vital" role in India.
According to the report, a government panel has been studying whether the two Chinese companies should be allowed to participate in India's 5G network deployment. And according to sources, the panel has recommended that the two Chinese companies not be allowed to participate in the deployments.
The traders' group has been at the forefront of protests against any form of participation by Chinese companies in the Indian market, from retail to technology, a number of Indian media outlets, including National Herald, have reported.
As recently as June this year, CAIT, which represents some 70 million traders, also asked the Indian government and local state governments to support a boycott of Chinese goods and cancel government contracts given to Chinese companies, according to Reuters.
Since the Sino-Indian border conflict, India has been making moves to suppress Chinese companies.
In June, the Indian government also banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, WeChat and Weibo, for "security" reasons, arguing that they engaged in activities that undermined India's sovereignty, defense, national security and public order.
