Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies today announced its entry into the Indian mobile handset market with the launch of 20 new handsets.

Till now, Huawei was selling handsets bundled with services offered by telecom operators like Tata Teleservices and BSNL.

"The Indian telecom industry is growing at the rate of 20 million subscribers a month. Our entry into the open market will help us tap more growth opportunities in India," Huawei Device Chief Marketing Officer Victor Xu told reporters here.

The phones have been launched under two series -- Hangout and Android -- which are based on Qualcomm's chipset solutions.

The handsets, priced at Rs 2,000 onwards, will be available from August.

Asked about the new government directive asking telecom equipment-makers to deposit source codes and detailed designs for all their products and services in an escrow account, the company said it has received the notification.

"We have received the notification and are going through it and after going through it, we should be able to comment on it," Huawei Telecommunications (India) Executive Director (CSSS) A Sethu Raman said.

The government yesterday introduced new norms for telecom operators importing equipment from vendors.

International telecom gear makers will have to deposit source codes and detailed designs of all products and services they sell here in an escrow account in encrypted form, so that security agencies and operators can access them in case of an emergency.