Hikvision's annual report of 2018 shows that the controlling shareholder in the company is the Government of China. Sharing his feedback on the issue, Cyber Expert Aditya Jain said that China's cameras are the biggest menace to India.
China has installed more than 200 million CCTV cameras in its own country. In China, a video surveillance network has been created where all the activities of people are recorded by government-owned CCTV cameras. The Chinese government has also installed cameras with artificial intelligence (AI) which can detect a person's face and procure all the information related to that person.
Speaking about the installation of Hikvision CCTV camera, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh argued that BEL cameras have been installed in the metro which is banned too, so why it is here? We have given lesser prices and have followed the rules.
In the US, enormous protest and turmoil took place against the installation of Hikvision's CCTV cameras. In fact, laws were made in the US to ban Hikvision from taking video surveillance. Australia, too, ordered all military buildings to remove China's Hikvision cameras. France is also investigating the security threat from the Chinese company Hikvision's cameras.
It is also speculated that Indian Railway might also give the tender for camera placements to Hikvision. While at the Niti Aayog meeting, serious concern was raised about the Chinese company's cameras. The commission has also sent a recommendation to the Railways. Even the representatives from the Technical Equipment Manufacturers Association (TEMA) have themselves said that the cameras of the Hickvision company in America are banned. In the recommendation, it was written that TEMA's instructions need serious attention. The policy body also suggested avoiding applying CCTV cameras of such a company which is suspected of espionage.
In the terms of Railway Tenders of 2018, it is clear that if any company is charged with spying or backdoor entry, it cannot be given the permission for installation of CCTV in the Railways. However, this rule was removed in 2019 and therefore Hickvision can now supply cameras for Railways too.
The motive behind the removal of the rule is still a matter of investigation. As of now, the Delhi High Court has put a stay on the entire proceeding in national interest till the next hearing. The technical people associated with the Railways and Delhi government, on condition of anonymity, said that these Chinese companies supply CCTV at half the price from Indian and other countries companies.