India phasing out Huawei equipment, no 'written' ban: Report

According to a UK newspaper, India is phasing out equipment of Chinese tech giant Huawei from its telecom network as the Indian government cracks down on Chinese products in the country.

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The Financial Times report in its report said that the Indian government hasn't issued any formal "written ban" on Chinese equipment suppliers but quoted unnamed telecoms industry executives and government officials to state that local telecoms service providers have been told to avoid Chinese equipment.

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Not just Huawei, Chinese telecom company ZTE has also been added to the list, the report said. The local service providers have reportedly been asked to avoid the Chinese 5G networks as well.

The Indian government had earlier banned TikTok and 59 other Chinese apps citing national security issues after the clash at Galwan Valley between Indian troops and the Chinese Army on June 15. The clash had led to the death of 20Indian soldiers, although the PLA had suffered casualties as well but China's foreign ministry hasrefused to divulge details.

The Financial Times said the government was unlikely to"formally" ban Huawei or other Chinese equipment companyas itmay lead to a tough response from the Chinese government, however, it would look to not give pubic contracts including "critical" infrastructure projects to Chinese companies.

Britain had earlier ordered phased removal of Huawei from its 5G network by 2027 and had banned the purchase of 5G equipment from December 31.

Last week, the Trump administration expanded its curbs on Huawei banning suppliers from selling chips made using US technology to the firm without a special licence,the move was criticised by the Chinese government which said it was a "deliberate smear and suppression of Huawei".

The US had blacklisted the Chinese tech giant over a year ago over security concerns.