The Confederation of Indian Industry has called for technical regulations and conformity of standards for development of the domestic ICTE (Information Communication Technology and Electronics) manufacturing sector. According to Mr. Inderdeep Singh, Chairman, CII National Committee on ICTE Manufacturing, “There is need to develop and mandate conformance standards for locally manufactured as well as imported ICTE products in harmonization with international practices and benchmarks. Offering incentives to companies to adopt such standards would help integrate Indian companies with the global supply chain.” CII is organizing a half-day seminar on ‘Entry Criteria for Market Access in the ICTE Sector’ on 29th September in order to highlight the issues relating to technical regulations and conformance standards in the ICTE industry. The seminar would be addressed by senior government officials and industry leaders. According to CII, under the WTO-ITA-I agreement, with tariffs being reduced to near zero, international electronic and electrical products trade would increasingly be subjected to higher technical regulations and conformance standards. Already, the number of these regulations and standards has increased significantly in recent years, especially relating to consumer protection, national interest, quality, environment protection, and corporate social responsibility. Standards, testing, labeling and certification requirements for quality are also rising. Electronics companies must conform to these standards or risk loss of business. CII has emphasized that such standards should also be created for Indian conditions relating to safety, voltage, energy efficiency and EMC/EMI, among others. There is also need for expanding necessary infrastructure of testing and mandating standards, as well as mutual recognition of test laboratories and international agencies, in addition to enforcement and consumer awareness. Finally, companies need to be encouraged through various initiatives to adopt international standards and practices. Globally, the electronics industry is valued at about USD 1.75 trillion and is the largest and fastest growing manufacturing industry in the world. Electronics products are among the top three globally traded products with robust value chains linking factories across the world. The ICTE sector in India has been growing at a CAGR of 16% in the last five years, but in relation to global production, its value at USD 26.6 billion remains small. About 60% of India’s demand for ICTE products is met through imports. According to the Report of the Task Force of Department of Information Technology, the opportunity for ICTE production by 2020 is as high as USD 400 billion, including USD 80 billion of exports, making ICTE industry of strategic importance for the Indian economy, with strong implications for both businesses and lifestyles.