In what could be seen as the complete closure of opportunity for Chinese firms in India, New Delhi intends to prohibit the inclusion of Huawei and ZTE products and services in its telecommunications systems, even if their border disputes are resolved.
"Do countries like New Zealand, Canada, or the US banning their (Huawei, ZTE) products have a border dispute with China? Of course, their decision is based on evidence suggesting data breach and snooping. We have also found evidence against them," a top government official told Sputnik, requesting anonymity.
It was the first time New Delhi claimed it had evidence that these two Chinese firms were snooping. The official said that no one could restrict businesses with firms in the era of WTO-based global trade without substantial evidence.
"As a patriot and responsible citizen of this country, I would say, yes, this (snooping) is a real risk, and it is not limited to India, but it is for others as well," he emphasized.
After resisting US pressure to restrict Chinese-made telecom gear for months, major European countries such as Germany and France have also limited the role of "untrustworthy" suppliers of 5G technology in their sensitive sectors.
On Wednesday, a Swedish court upheld a ban on sales of Huawei's 5G network gear in the country, citing "security concerns". Sweden became the first European country to ban Huawei's 5G gear.
However, Huawei, which supplies its equipment to dozens of countries, countered the snooping allegations, labeling the decisions by Western countries as "discriminatory" and "politically motivated".
The company has reiterated several times that no country holds evidence confirming spying charges against it and has offered countries, including India, the opportunity to visit their manufacturing lab to prove their claim of malware-free products.
China, in its turn, accused the US of being the nation that indulges in espionage on its allies using electronic equipment, which Beijing considers to be the biggest threat in the world. The Indian official admitted that it is debatable if Western telecom gear suppliers not misuse or snoop on foreign countries.
India is scheduled to auction the 5G spectrum to firms on July 26, and services are expected to be rolled out by October.
Telecom firms have raised the issue of restricting Chinese telecom gear, burdening their rollout cost due to relatively costly Western equipment.
Until 2018, the competitive prices of Huawei had brought it to dominating position in the world's 5G infrastructure market.