India officially bans Hikvision, Dahua, and TP-Link: The "Great CCTV Purge" begins today

Starting April 1, 2026, new security requirements under the STQC framework have effectively barred major Chinese manufacturers from the Indian market.

• The Ban: Authorities are refusing certification for products from Hikvision, Dahua, and TP-Link, as well as any devices using Chinese-origin chipsets.
• New Rules: All cameras must now be free of hardcoded credentials and hidden backdoors. They must support secure firmware updates and strong encryption.
• The Trigger: The move follows global concerns over "civilian" cameras being hacked to guide missile strikes in the Middle East and track troop movements in Ukraine.
• Local Context: With over 250,000 government cameras in Delhi alone, the scale of the hardware replacement cycle is massive.

This is the most significant hardware ban since the 2020 app purge. For Indian businesses and homeowners, the era of "cheap and easy" surveillance is over. While this creates a massive opening for "Made in India" players like CP Plus and Matrix, it also means a short-term spike in costs for security installations. The government is treating IoT hardware as a frontline national security risk.

Are you planning to rip out your existing TP-Link or Hikvision home setup for a certified "secure" alternative, or do you think the privacy risks are being exaggerated?