STQC norms rollout has boosted Indian surveillance companies, says Khemka

The founder of Aditya Infotech says the rollout of STQC norms has improved trust and compliance in India's surveillance market, and helped the firm scale up capacity and gain market share

The rollout and implementation of the government’s standardisation testing and quality certification (STQC) norms have provided an impetus to domestic companies such as Aditya Infotech, as well as other global brands seeking to enter India’s fledgling security and surveillance market, said the company’s founder and managing director, Aditya Khemka.

 

The STQC norms for surveillance gear were rolled out by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on April 9 last year. As part of the new norms, the government now conducts fresh audits of cybersecurity and surveillance equipment using new parameters, such as supply-chain security and backdoor data pilferage.

 

Why does the government see surveillance gear as a critical sector? 

“Governments across the globe have been increasingly feeling that the surveillance gear industry, like the telecom gear industry or the drone industry, is a critical sector, and therefore, there cannot be any possibility of data leak happening from there either,” Khemka said.

 

How have the STQC norms helped Aditya Infotech gain ground? 

The new norms have also helped Aditya Infotech, the maker of CP Plus cameras, overtake its peers as well as newer entrants to the domestic market in terms of market share, as the company has been working on several aspects of the STQC norms for more than two years now, he said.

 

“We are doing a lot to fill the gap that has been created due to some companies vacating this space following the new norms. We have expanded capacity to produce 1.8-1.9 million units per month and will slowly scale up to 2 million units in January, followed by 2.5 million units in another six months,” he said.

 

What is the size of India’s surveillance equipment market? 

The current market size of surveillance and camera security gear in India is close to 5 million units, of which Aditya Infotech aims to capture and service half, he said. At present, Aditya Infotech services nearly 35 per cent of India’s surveillance gear market, according to analyst estimates.

 

Which customer segments drive demand for CP Plus cameras? 

Currently, CP Plus operates primarily in four segments: government contracts, large enterprises, small and medium businesses, and the home segment, Khemka said.

 

The Indian market is comprised mainly of orders from small and medium businesses, followed by government and large enterprises, which together account for 20 per cent of all orders received by Aditya Infotech. The home market, which includes individual buyers installing surveillance gear both inside and outside their homes, accounts for less than 10 per cent of all orders, he said.

 

How is Aditya Infotech strengthening domestic manufacturing? 

The company is also focusing on backward integration, including domestic manufacturing of surveillance cameras and camera housings, for which Aditya Infotech will soon set up a new unit, Khemka said.

 

“We conducted trials for making camera lenses in India. In the next quarter, we will go into mass production. The aim is to make at least half of our lenses in India, totalling over a million units,” he said.

 

Earlier this month, Aditya Infotech also announced that it had tied up with Qualcomm to develop a new generation of artificial intelligence-enabled, insight-driven video security solutions tailored to India’s needs.