India, Singapore to ease market access for telecom products

NEW DELHI: Telecom equipments made in India and Singapore may have an easy entry in each others' market from April with the two sides moving closer to operationalise a pact that will eliminate the need for product testing and certification in both countries.

Department of Telecom officials are currently in Singapore and discussing with their counterparts the details of Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) so as to operationalise the pact from April 1, official sources said.

The MRA is part of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that the two countries signed in June 2005.

Implementation of MRA will abolish the need for testing and certification in both countries. Instead, certification by an agency of one country will be accepted by the other. This will give easier access to companies to sell telecom and electronic products such as mobile handsets.

Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore and Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) of India will be the technical certifying bodies, the sources said.

This means once products made in India are certified by TEC for selling in Singapore, IDA will not have to certify that the items adhere to local standards and regulations.

Both the countries will benefit with this arrangement since it leads to cost reduction as well as faster and easier access for companies wanting to tap the market.

Singapore is one of India's key trading partners in south-east Asia. India's imports from Singapore comprise mostly of electronic goods.