STQC/BIS-Approved CCTV Cameras in India: The 2026 List, Explained

Last verified: 17 July 2026. This is a fast-moving compliance topic — always confirm the model you want on the live registry.

There is no single downloadable STQC/BIS-approved CCTV list. Approval is granted per camera model, not per brand, and lives on two government portals — BIS CRS registration for safety (IS 13252) and STQC/ER security testing under MeitY. From 1 April 2026, only models carrying both can legally be sold, imported, or installed in India.

Key takeaways

• No single list exists — approval is granted model by model, not brand by brand.
• The real gate is the chipset: certified lines run non-Chinese SoCs, which is why Chinese-silicon cameras can't clear the security test.
• Deadline is 1 April 2026 — non-conforming cameras can't be sold, imported, or manufactured.
• Verify the exact model's R-number on crsbis.in plus its STQC/ER certificate before you sign.
• Cameras already installed keep running; replacements and new sites must be certified.
• "Approved" means safe and secure — not that it shoots usable footage of your floor.

If a supplier hands you a "STQC-approved brand list" and says pick anything, that's a sales sheet, not proof. Approval attaches to a model number — so make them prove the model. What follows is what the two stamps actually certify, the component gate almost nobody explains, how to check any model in a few minutes, and what the 2026 shock is doing to prices and lead times.

What the two stamps actually certify

Two separate government requirements now stack on every CCTV camera sold in India, and buyers collapse both into the word "approved":

1. BIS registration (safety). Under the Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS), cameras and recorders are tested to IS 13252 (Part 1) — the Indian safety standard for information-technology equipment — and registered with the Bureau of Indian Standards, which issues an R-number. This is the older, baseline requirement.
2. STQC / Essential Requirements (security). MeitY notified Essential Requirements (ER) for CCTV cybersecurity — a set of six requirements tested by STQC labs under the IoT System Certification Scheme (IoTSCS). Among them: no hard-coded default passwords, encrypted video streams, and secure boot with signed firmware.

Read the ER list as a threat model, not a spec sheet. A default-password camera is the classic Mirai-style hijack vector — the exact hole that turned cheap recorders into botnets. An unencrypted stream can be sniffed straight off your own VLAN. Unsigned firmware is a backdoor you can't detect. The non-obvious part for a factory: an uncertified camera bridged onto your plant network isn't a paperwork gap — it's a live foothold sitting next to your PLCs and ERP.

The deadline: MeitY withdrew the relaxation that had let older non-conforming stock keep selling, and from 1 April 2026 no CCTV that fails the ER can be sold, manufactured, or imported. We cover the full timeline in our companion piece on BIS/STQC 2026 factory camera compliance.

The real gate is the chipset, not the badge

Here is what every "approved list" repeats and none explains: certification effectively turns on the camera's main processor — its SoC. The ER disclosure regime requires declaring the country of origin of core components, and the models that clear it run non-Chinese silicon — in practice chips like Ambarella (US), Novatek (Taiwan), or Innofusion (Taiwan). That is the mechanical reason Chinese-SoC product lines — however cheap, or however "rebadged Indian" they look — struggle to pass, and why two cameras that look identical on the outside can land on opposite sides of the line.

So the owner's action isn't to argue about brand lineage. It's one datasheet question: what SoC is inside this exact model, and what country of origin sits on its certificate? It's concrete, verifiable, durable, and it's the check no sales sheet volunteers.

So is there a "list"? Distrust any neat number

Yes, there's a public registry — but no published count of it is authoritative, and you should be suspicious of any article (this one included) that hands you a tidy total. BIS CRS registration, the STQC/IoTSCS roster, and third-party aggregators each count differently, and the list churns weekly as models pass and older ones lapse. That's why you'll see figures as far apart as a ~196-model STQC tally (mid-2026), larger third-party aggregator counts, and single-digit-per-brand tallies all stamped 2026. Prama, CP Plus (Aditya Infotech), Sparsh, and Matrix show up as the largest holders in most tallies — but the only number that matters is whether your exact model is on the live portal today. Don't buy the count; check the model.

Why your April quote jumped — the certification shock

The rule didn't just change what you can buy; it repriced the market — and this is the part no buyer guide tells you. Certifying a single model reportedly runs on the order of Rs 5 lakh (plus smaller fees per sibling SKU), and only around 14 empanelled labs are working through a 3-6 month test cycle — a bottleneck that alone explains slipped deliveries. Industry reporting puts prices up roughly 15-20% since the deadline firmed, with only a small share of market demand actually certified so far. Trade body FAIITA has warned that the squeeze exposes roughly 1,000 CCTV MSMEs and about 400,000 channel jobs, as the handful of approved OEMs tighten the credit terms smaller integrators used to rely on.

Owner takeaway: your April quote spiked and your delivery slipped because the market is structurally short of certified stock — not because your vendor is gouging. Budget the premium, lock certified stock early, and treat any "same price as last year" offer as a flag that you're being shown pre-deadline inventory.

How do I verify a specific CCTV model is BIS/STQC approved?

Don't buy on a brand claim — verify the SKU. Two primary sources:

• BIS CRS portal — crsbis.in. Open the registered-products search, choose product "CCTV Camera," and match the R-number the vendor gave you. No model plus R-number, no registration — full stop.
• STQC / IoTSCS — stqc.gov.in. Confirm a valid STQC/ER security certificate, not just the older safety registration.

A buyer's checklist before you release a purchase order:

1. Exact model number in writing — the full SKU, not "Prama 4MP dome."
2. Its BIS CRS R-number, confirmed by you on crsbis.in.
3. Its STQC/ER certificate — a brand-level claim is not enough.
4. Recorders (DVR/NVR) covered too, not just the cameras.
5. The SoC / country of origin on the certificate (see the gate above).
6. Written confirmation it's current compliant stock, not pre-deadline inventory being cleared cheaply.

On the leading name. Prama traces back to Prama Hikvision India — originally a joint venture with China's Hikvision (reportedly the controlling partner), since repositioned toward an indigenous "Prama India." For legal compliance the lineage is irrelevant: its certified models pass precisely because they run non-Chinese SoCs. It can still matter for government-tender optics or critical-infrastructure classification — so judge it by the SoC and certificate holder on paper, not by brand ancestry. See our note on Hikvision/Dahua alternatives for Indian factories.

What to do with cameras you already own — or were just quoted

First, two regimes — don't confuse them. The 1 April 2026 rule is a blanket ban on selling, importing, or manufacturing non-conforming cameras: it binds everyone. The Public Procurement Order layers on top and additionally binds any deployment funded by public money — government, defence, railways, smart-city, PSU, critical infrastructure.

• Already installed and working? The ban targets sale, import, and manufacture, not your running system — your existing cameras keep working. But any replacement, expansion, or new site must use certified models. Confirm the current MeitY/BIS wording before assuming installed stock is permanently grandfathered.
• Holding a quote for uncertified models? Don't sign. After the deadline those units are illegal to sell, warranty and spares get murky, and for audited private-sector verticals — pharma (GMP), food/FMCG (FSSAI), auto-components (IATF) — uncertified surveillance hardware is an audit finding waiting to happen. That private-sector exposure, not just "government tenders," is what most owners underestimate.
• Mid-project and unsure? Have the integrator reissue the BOM with R-numbers, STQC certificates, and SoC origin per line item. A serious vendor will have these ready.

Does STQC/BIS approval mean the camera is good quality?

This is the most expensive misunderstanding on the topic. Certification tests whether the device is safe (won't catch fire) and secure (won't be hijacked on your network). It says nothing about whether the camera does the job on your shop floor.

A fully certified camera aimed at a blank wall, or mounted too far to resolve a hazard, is compliant and useless. Two floor-level decisions still sit entirely with you: which certified model fits the scene (resolution, lens, low-light, mounting), and where and how many cameras to place. Certification narrows what you may legally buy; it says nothing about where a camera actually does work.

Where Mama fits

Compliance sets your buying list. The harder question — how many cameras, ceiling or wall, which zones and hazards — is where Mama helps. You record a short phone walkthrough of the floor, and it returns a placement plan plus a plain-language read of the space, so your certified-camera budget lands where it counts. See what factory-floor video analytics is for how that works. Buy certified — then hang it where it earns its keep.

FAQ

Is there one official "STQC approved CCTV list" I can download? No single downloadable document. Approval is per model, on the BIS CRS portal (crsbis.in) and the STQC/IoTSCS registry. Third parties aggregate these into brand lists — but the counts disagree and churn weekly, so verify your exact model on the primary portals.

How many CCTV models are actually certified? Nobody can give you an authoritative number. Depending on which registry you count and when, published 2026 tallies range from single-digit-per-brand to a ~196-model STQC count to larger third-party aggregator counts. Distrust any tidy total — including ours — and check the live registry for the model you want.

Why did certified CCTV get more expensive in 2026? Certifying each model reportedly costs around Rs 5 lakh, and only about 14 labs run a 3-6 month test cycle, so certified supply is throttled while demand isn't. Industry reporting puts prices up roughly 15-20%. Budget for it and lock stock early.

Do my already-installed cameras become illegal on 1 April 2026? No. The rule targets sale, import, and manufacture — not removal of installed cameras. Replacements and new sites must be certified, and public-money-funded deployments also fall under the Public Procurement Order. Confirm the latest official wording before relying on this.

Does approval mean the camera is good quality? No. Certification covers safety and cybersecurity — not image quality, lens coverage, low-light performance, or where to place the camera. Pick the model to fit the scene separately.

Is Prama the same as Hikvision? Prama traces back to Prama Hikvision India, a JV with Hikvision (reportedly the controlling partner), now repositioned toward an indigenous "Prama India." Its certified models pass because they run non-Chinese SoCs, so lineage doesn't affect legal compliance — but it can matter for government-tender optics. Check the SoC and certificate holder.