Overview
- The light‑touch regime under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 would cover the sale and use of foreign SIM/eSIM cards in M2M/IoT devices made in India exclusively for export.
- Authorisations would be issued through a fully online process with digitally signed, auto‑generated approvals.
- Any company registered under the Indian Companies Act would be eligible, with zero entry and authorisation fees, no equity or bank guarantee conditions, a Rs 5,000 processing charge, and 10‑year validity.
- Foreign SIM/eSIM cards could be activated in India for device testing for up to six months before export.
- TRAI urged the DoT to work with Finance and Commerce to harmonise import/export rules for SIMs, with implementation pending government consideration of the recommendations.