India's intelligence officials have long complained that they are unable to decipher encrypted data sent on BlackBerry handsets, made by Canadian firm Research In Motion, or intercept calls on Skype.

The government has threatened to ban or block BlackBerry and Skype services if the companies fail to adhere to a 15-day deadline to make data available in formats that can be monitored, The Economic Times newspaper said.

Google has been asked to ensure e-mails on its Gmail service can be deciphered, though no deadline has been issued, the paper said. A Google spokesperson said that no communication on this subject has been received from the government so far. “We will comment if and when we get any letter from the Department of Telecommunications,” the spokesperson said.

"The latest development indicates that security agencies are again finding it difficult to intercept or decipher messages sent through BlackBerry phones," the paper said.

Concerns have also been raised about the data services being offered by Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications as security agencies are not able to snoop into these networks.

The Indian Telecommunications Ministry was unable to comment when contacted by Agence France Presse.

The federal government has also decided to amend IT laws to make it mandatory for foreign companies that do not require a local license to provide all the data required by Indian law enforcement agencies. Such a law would force companies such as Skype to give complete access to their networks or set up a local server in India to allow security agencies to track content.

These decisions were taken at a recent joint meeting of officials from the Home (interior) Ministry, the Intelligence Bureau, the Department of Telecommunications and the National Technical Research Organization.

India, which faces a strengthening home-grown Maoist insurgency and constant threats from religious groups, is highly sensitive about the potential risks of technology. The government has been restricting imports from Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers because of Indian intelligence agency fears that "spyware" could be embedded in the equipment.

It has also restricted the use of mobile phones in violence-wracked Indian-ruled Kashmir, where pay-as-you-go phones and the use of text messages have been curtailed. The area is a hotbed of anti-India activity.