India has relaxed its domestic procurement requirements to allow government agencies to purchase advanced digital-forensics and phone-extraction technology from foreign companies, including Israeli firm Cellebrite. The move has raised concerns among digital rights organisations over the expansion of government surveillance capabilities and the absence of clear legal safeguards.
An investigation by the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), reported by Al Jazeera, found that Union Home Minister Amit Shah approved exemptions from the government’s Make in India procurement rules in January 2026. The exemptions opened the way for government forensic institutions to procure at least 422 foreign technology products.
Cellebrite Gets Approval for Government Procurement
Under Make in India procurement rules, government departments are generally required to give preference to eligible domestic manufacturers over foreign suppliers. However, the rules permit exemptions with approval from the minister in charge of the procuring department.
According to documents reviewed by IFF, a Ministry of Home Affairs letter dated January 7 authorised a one-year waiver covering at least 422 forensic products. Of these, IFF identified 118 items related to digital and multimedia forensics.
The list included products from Israeli company Cellebrite, such as Pathfinder, Inseyets On-Prem Pro and Inseyets Offline. Other foreign digital-forensics companies named in the procurement documents included Magnet, MSAB, Oxygen Forensics and Belkasoft.
A separate ministry letter dated January 20 reportedly permitted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to purchase Cellebrite’s Premium Tool under a three-year licence for approximately Rs 5 crore.
However, the exemption itself does not establish that every listed product was ultimately purchased by a government agency.
Phone Extraction Capabilities Extend to Cloud Accounts
The investigation also highlighted the capabilities sought by Indian law enforcement agencies. Delhi Police specifications for its National Cyber Forensic Laboratory included software capable of bypassing passwords and screen locks, extracting complete file systems, recovering deleted files, decrypting backups and accessing information from messaging applications.
Another proposed system was expected to access more than 100 cloud services using account credentials or login tokens recovered from seized devices.
The listed platforms included Google, Apple, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Discord and dating applications such as Tinder, Grindr and OkCupid. The specifications also covered data extraction from drones, wearable devices and connected products such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
Digital Rights Groups Raise Privacy Concerns
The investigation has renewed questions about the legal framework governing digital surveillance in India. IFF highlighted the absence of a specific law or protocol regulating forced phone unlocking, complete data extraction, access to cloud accounts and the retention or deletion of extracted information.
The Supreme Court recognised privacy as a fundamental right in its 2017 judgement. However, digital rights advocates argue that surveillance capabilities are expanding without adequate independent oversight.
The report also referred to allegations involving journalists and public figures. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee said he suspected police had attempted to clone his iPhone after it was confiscated during his detention. Al Jazeera said it could not independently verify his account. Journalist Mohammad Aslam Hussain separately reported that recordings had been deleted from his phone after it was seized.
Summary
India’s exemption from Make in India procurement rules has opened the door for government agencies to procure advanced foreign digital-forensics products, including Cellebrite tools. The technology could enable access to locked devices and cloud accounts. Digital rights groups warn that the country’s legal safeguards and independent oversight mechanisms have not kept pace with these expanding surveillance capabilities.
