Indian CCTV firms likely to benefit from U.S.-China direct trade war
'With this trade war going on between China and U.S., it brings in a huge opportunity for domestic manufacturers like us for even exporting to U.S.,' said Sanjeev Sehgal, Founder & Managing Director, Sparsh CCTV, among top three players in the segment.
'We are working hard toward how we can get maximum benefit out of it,' Mr. Sehgal told The Hindu.
'Because there is no clarity now, we need to see once all the things settle down and take a decision. So, we are seeing a good number of inquiries coming from U.S.,' he said.
To start with, the firm would export to the U.S. and depending on the opportunity, it may set up a manufacturing unit there.
Sparsh CCTV has already set up a subsidiary in the U.S. and is establishing a joint venture in Saudi Arabia to expand into those key markets.
Expected surge
The company, which started focusing on exports since January this year, is expecting its exports volume to surge from 1-2% of the turnover now to about 20% this fiscal year.
India's decision to keep Chinese CCTV companies out of the domestic market by making it mandatory for suppliers to have Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) is expected to benefit local firms ike Sparsh, which is the first entity to get such a certification. This requirement has come into force from April 9, 2025.
New norms
'After the 9th of April, all CCTV cameras to be sold in India have to be certified as per the new BIS ER norms. So, only those CCTV cameras approved by BIS can be sold, hired, stored, or even given on lease in India,' Mr. Sehgal said.
'Which is basically the ER testing and certification from STQC, which is the testing standards and certification body under the Ministry of Electronics,' he added.
Railways contract
Stating that the government policy has started benefiting Indian firms, he said, 'We have got some major successes out of it. One of the major successes is railways. So, we are doing at almost 5,000 railway stations across India.'
He said this regulation and export opportunity to the U.S. would lead to a 100% growth in the company's volumes this year.
'We believe that we should minimum grow by 100%, because with this new regulation coming in, most of the Chinese brands will not be able to get the certification. Because they [BIS] are asking for the source code and everything,' he said.
Chinese control
Chinese firms control 75% of India's estimated ₹12,000 crore CCTV market, which is growing at a CAGR of 20%.
To cater to the demand, the company will be investing ₹300 crore in three years to expand capacity. This is projected to grow over 10 times from 1 million units a year to 1 million units a month in three to four years Mr. Sehgal said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
16 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India-China talks yield broad breakthroughs
India and China on Tuesday unveiled a slew of initiatives to address their border dispute and normalise bilateral ties in the wake of the LAC standoff, ranging from steps to explore an 'early harvest' in boundary delimitation to resumption of direct flights and facilitation of trade and investment flows. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI) The measures were announced following visiting Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's talks with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval under the Special Representatives mechanism and his meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar, and came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to China at the end of this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. The Prime Minister confirmed his presence in Tianjin after meeting Wang on Tuesday evening. Both Doval and Wang pointed to steady progress in bilateral relations and easing of tensions on the border after the understanding last October to end the face-off on the Line of Actual Control, reflecting the growing thaw in ties amid geo-economic churn caused by the trade policies of the US administration. At the meeting of the Special Representatives, the two sides agreed to create an expert group under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs to explore 'early harvest in boundary delimitation', and to set up another working group under the WMCC to 'advance effective border management' and maintain peace and tranquillity, the external affairs ministry said in a statement. The two sides will create 'general level mechanisms' for the eastern and middle sectors of the border, which cover Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim, respectively. These will be in addition to the existing general level mechanism for the western sector, which covers Ladakh, the scene of the standoff which lasted well over four years. The two sides also agreed to hold an early meeting of the mechanism for the western sector. The two sides further agreed to use diplomatic and military mechanisms to carry forward border management and discuss de-escalation, beginning with principles and modalities, the statement said. India and China emphasised the need for a 'political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework' for settling the border issue in line with the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question signed in 2005, the statement added. Several other initiatives were finalised at Wang's meeting with Jaishankar on Monday, including resumption of direct flights 'at the earliest' and finalisation of an updated air services agreement. Direct flights stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic and this continued after the face-off on the LAC. Both sides also agreed to facilitate visas for tourists, businesses, media and other visitors. Besides reopening border trade through three designated points at Lipulekh pass, Shipki pass and Nathu La, both sides agreed to facilitate trade and investment flows between the two countries through concrete measures. India had restricted foreign direct investments from China through Press Note 3 in April 2020. The two sides will also continue and expand the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Manasarovar lake in the Tibet region, starting from 2026. The pilgrimage resumed after a gap of five years in April. The two sides agreed to 'give full play to the role of India-China Expert Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers' and discuss the renewal of relevant MoUs. 'The Chinese side agreed to share hydrological information during emergency situations based on humanitarian considerations,' the statement said against the backdrop of Indian concerns about China's plan to build a mega dam in Tibet. Both sides also agreed to support each other in hosting diplomatic events. For instance, China will support India's presidency of Brics in 2026, and India will back China in hosting the 2027 Brics Summit. They will resume bilateral dialogue mechanisms and exchanges to address each other's concerns and manage differences, including holding a meeting of the High-level Mechanism on People-to-People Exchanges in India in 2026. The Chinese side welcomed Modi's attendance at the upcoming SCO Summit in Tianjin, and the Indian side looked forward to a successful summit with fruitful outcomes. Both sides agreed a stable, cooperative and forward-looking relationship is in the mutual interest of both countries to 'realise their development potential fully'. India and China also agreed to uphold multilateralism, enhance communication on major international and regional issues, maintain a rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, and promote a multipolar world that safeguards the interest of developing countries. In what appeared to be a reference to the trade policies of the US administration, a Chinese foreign ministry statement quoted Wang as saying that the two sides reached consensus on 'deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, upholding multilateralism, jointly addressing global challenges, and opposing unilateral bullying'. Wang also said the two sides reached a new consensus on the border issue, including 'properly handling sensitive points and initiating boundary demarcation negotiations where conditions permit'. The 24th round of talks under the Special Representatives mechanism focused on 'de-escalation, delimitation and boundary affairs', the external affairs ministry said. Wang was quoted by the Chinese foreign ministry as saying that the two sides should 'set goals in border control, demarcation negotiations and cross-border exchanges'. Wang is the first Chinese minister to visit India since the two sides ended a standoff on the LAC last October and agreed to revive mechanisms to normalise ties. Both Doval and Wang acknowledged the Special Representatives' meeting had assumed greater significance as it was held ahead of Modi's visit to China for the SCO Summit. Doval said India and China have benefited from peace and tranquillity on the border since the end of the face-off and made progress in various areas. Pointing to an 'upward trend' in relations over the past nine months, he said: 'Borders have been quiet, there has been peace and tranquillity, our bilateral engagements have been more substantial.' Wang described the border situation as 'stable and improving' and said the setbacks experienced by India and China in the past few years were not in the interests of the people of both sides. The meeting between Modi and President Xi Jinping in October last year 'provided impetus for the proper settlement of the boundary question', he added. 'We are heartened to see the stability that is now restored in the borders,' Wang said. 'The Chinese side attaches great importance to the Prime Minister's visit to China to attend the SCO Summit at our invitation.' Despite the signs of a thaw, there were also indications of continuing concerns on the Indian side, including cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan, a close ally of China, and Beijing's plans to build what will be the world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet that could affect the flows in the Brahmaputra river. The Indian side strongly raised all forms of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, while recalling that one of the original objectives of the SCO, which is currently led by China, was to counter the 'evil of terrorism', the external affairs ministry said in a statement. Wang 'concurred that countering terrorism should be given the highest priority', the statement added. External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who met Wang on Monday, 'underlined India's concerns with regard to the mega dam construction being undertaken by China in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra river), which will have implications for lower riparian states,' the statement said. Jaishankar strongly underlined the 'need for utmost transparency' on this project, it added. The two Special Representatives met even as a senior Indian government official said Wang had assured Jaishankar at their meeting on Monday that China is addressing India's concerns regarding restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals, fertilisers and large tunnel boring machines.
Fibre2Fashion
43 minutes ago
- Fibre2Fashion
Extent of Chinese consumption recovery's durability unclear: Fitch
Pic: Shutterstock Insights After stating at the beginning of 2025 that expanding consumption and domestic demand are top work priorities, Chinese policymakers have succeeded in boosting near-term consumption, according to Fitch Ratings. However, it believes the extent of the consumption recovery's durability is unclear without an improvement in consumer confidence. It expects consumption to slow in H2 2025. After stating at the beginning of this year that expanding consumption and domestic demand are top work priorities, Chinese policymakers have succeeded in boosting near-term consumption, according to Fitch Ratings. However, it believes the extent of the consumption recovery's durability is unclear without an improvement in consumer confidence. It expects consumption to slow in the second half (H2) this year, as indicated by July's moderating retail sales. After stating at the beginning of 2025 that expanding consumption and domestic demand are top work priorities, Chinese policymakers have succeeded in boosting near-term consumption, according to Fitch Ratings. However, it believes the extent of the consumption recovery's durability is unclear without an improvement in consumer confidence. It expects consumption to slow in H2 2025. Consumer spending growth picked up in H1 2025 on the stimulus from a consumer goods trade-in programme. This, along with broader fiscal stimulus and robust exports, is likely to keep 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) growth in China at 4.5-5 per cent, above Fitch's 4.2-per cent June forecast. Since the pandemic, subdued household confidence has led to cyclical weakness in consumption, which Fitch Ratings believes is likely to persist. Low confidence reflects uncertainty over income growth, employment prospects and negative wealth effects from the property correction. The organisation does not expect significant additional fiscal stimulus in H2 2025. Fiscal settings are expansionary in 2025 and strong H1 GDP growth has brought the government closer to achieving its growth objective. Therefore, it is sticking with its 8.4 per cent of GDP deficit forecast. Enhancing social safety nets will require additional fiscal spending, potentially adding to medium-term fiscal pressures amid already elevated deficits and declining fiscal revenue. However, there is headroom at the current 'A'/Stable rating, after its downgrade from 'A+'/Negative in April 2025, to manage the medium-term path of gradual consolidation and still rising debt, Fitch added. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Deccan Herald
an hour ago
- Deccan Herald
The rhetoric and real costs of trade wars
India misread the tariffs brought on by the United States and, at a broader level, the Trump administration. We were one of the first to approach the US on this matter, and we continued to believe that we would have a favourable deal till recently, given what we felt was a great rapport between Modi and Trump. Mainstream electronic media houses were complicit in driving this narrative. To understand why India got it wrong, it would be useful to connect two disparate data dots. Top that with India's misreading of Trump's desire to be seen as a look at the first irritant and its impact. India exports roughly $90 billion, paying approximately 2 per cent tariffs currently, and imports roughly $45 billion at 12 per cent tariffs. The trade deficit of $45 billion carries a tariff differential of $5 billion per year in India's favour after adjusting for exempted products. We should have seen this imbalance in America's trade deficit and tariffs long ago and proactively addressed this. Modi is now overhauling the tax rates in a bid to boost the economy. This is expected to cost $20 billion, four times the tariff differential India was enjoying. .The other irritant is oil imports. In 2021/22, India imported roughly 2.5 million barrels of oil every day. Under the tacit approval of the West, India's imports from Russia grew from 2 per cent then to 40 per cent today. India buys 45 per cent of the exported oil from Russia, a growth of 1900 per cent from pre-war levels. China buys the same percentage, a growth of 50 per cent from pre-war levels. So why did India need this extra oil suddenly? It was because we processed this extra oil and sold it for a profit overseas. Therefore, the rhetoric is misplaced, as we are profiting and fuelling the Russian war machine. Predicting the flow of events, we should have scaled down our offtake back to the 2022 levels and with that, justify our need to fuel the Indian economy and keep inflationary tendencies in check. We have now started to do this, drawing a balance between the US and predict that the impact of tariffs at 25 per cent is likely to be in the region of $11-12 billion per annum on tariffed goods and about 0.25 per cent on GDP. In the earliest days of cranking up our imports of oil, the difference was around $30 a barrel, leading to a gain of $16 billion. That has now come down to around $5 a barrel after accounting for logistics, etc. The benefit we get is estimated today to be only $3.5 billion, a delta of $8.5 billion from what we lose out on with the long commentators have suggested many responses, ranging from the knee-jerk to keeping the long-term in mind. The real issue is what we do now. There is no pattern in the madness. Why have the four treatments of the BRIC countries been different? Because there is a different playbook with each one. With Brazil, the US has a trade surplus. Why then, do they have tariffs of 50 per cent, which is higher than China and equal to India? Bolsonaro? With China, 150 per cent was brought down to 30 per cent; here, it is about the rare earths. For the quantities required, the ecosystem is expensive, and the returns don't work out for a commercial operation. The CCP subsidised this for leverage and their long-term plans to pursue electric mobility and clean energy. This leverage on supplies was used to resolve the $650 billion of trade at stake between the US and China. .India made public its hypocritical treatment at the hands of the US, as it bought palladium, uranium, etc. from Russia. However, the reality is that US imports from Russia were at best $3 billion, down some 45 per cent from the previous year. India's imports from Russia stood at $70 billion, almost twice what it imports from the must now not get caught in the whirlpool of its rhetoric. And it certainly must not seek to appease China and Russia in a hurry and on the rebound. One can expect that this is short-term. There are many moving parts – Russia and Ukraine could arrive at a truce as early as next month. India has already started to demonstrate it is willing to reduce its import of Russian oil while not displeasing Russia. The midterms in the US could go against Trump, and the US courts could reverse Trump's executive decisions. Importantly, Trump does not define the long-standing US relationship with India. Trump himself may not have a long-term view on this the US, it seems clear. The average tariff on its imports has seen inflows of $28 billion, three times post these levies were collected in June. This aggregates to $350 billion. Add to this DOGE cuts and some others, and we have $500 billion being saved or added to the US treasury. This pays half its annual interest cost of $1 trillion, which, if left alone, is not sustainable. This is good for no one, as it is the world's biggest market by the short term, one sees no harm in subtly managing the relationships and dynamics at play and being practical. In the long term, anyway, as economist John Maynard Keynes said, we are all dead..(The writer is the former managing director of a Tata Company and now runs a Bengaluru-headquartered corporate finance practice)
