New
Delhi: The National Security Council has highlighted
the need to block the entry of some foreign companies
in the country's sensitive infrastructure sectors. This
comes after National Security Advisor M K Narayanan's
revelations regarding terrorists' manipulation of stock
markets in India.
A
report of NSC has said that such companies, unless checked,
could gain access to the country's vital information and
communication technology assets. In this context, the
report cited the case of Egyptian mobile telecom company
Orasscom which it said, "...has the potential to
be on the board of one of India's major telecom companies
Hutch-Essar" (whose major stake has now been taken
over by British telecom giant Vodafone).
Orasscom
had reportedly been in the running initially for a controlling
stake in the Hutch-Essar. The report also said Orasscom
received investment from the late Yasser Arafat's Palestine
Liberation Organization, and is the biggest telecom operator
in Pakistan. with a large presence in Bangladesh.
The
NSC report said the presence of the Egyptian company in
India would not be in national interest as the entity
could gain access to "our ICT assets and enhance
the capabilities of our adversaries in gathering intelligence.
Other
overseas companies identified by the NSC were Huawei of
China and Dubai Ports World, which recently had its access
to US ports blocked by that country. An aviation company,
which has its stake in an Indian private low-cost carrier,
also figures on the list.
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