Is the government seeking phones’ source code?: Explained

The Indian government is reportedly considering requiring smartphone makers to disclose their source code to third-party testing agencies and notify the government before pushing major software updates. This demand, however, has sparked controversy as it would be highly unusual for such a disclosure outside sensitive fields like defense. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) are discussing these proposals, which have been met with skepticism from some industry groups and advocacy organizations. The Internet Freedom Foundation has called for transparency in the discussions and urged the government to release the draft ITSAR for public scrutiny.