“There are certain categories (monitoring of communication) where things are possible, there are certain categories where the same kind of interception is not possible,” R. Chandrashekhar, secretary at Department of Telecommunications, or DoT, said on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.

“The process of dialogue is still on and we will try to find an appropriate solution… We need to find a solution which not only addresses security concerns but also technology concerns and the interest of consumers,” he added.

Another official said that Research in Motion (RIM) — the maker of the smartphone — has allowed Indian government manual access to its Messenger service and has promised automated access by Jan. 1.

“We have manual access to the Messenger service. We want automated access and we are hopeful of getting it from January 1,” GK Pillai, India’s Interior Secretary was quoted as saying by Reuters.

At the moment, security agencies are getting manual printouts of chat messages within four to five hours of placing their requirements with RIM, a source revealed, adding that once it gets automated access, it could track chat messages on a real-time basis.

Indian government, which is testing various ways to intercept BlackBerry communications, earlier said it would test the feasibility of RIM’s concessions throughout October and November.

The Canada-based smartphone manufacturer appeared to accede to government demands by allowing access to the Messenger service at the beginning of September, while talks about access to the high-security corporate e-mail service continued.

RIM issued a statement on Friday rejecting the “misleading and inaccurate information circulating on the topic of lawful access matters in India,” referring to media reports that the company and India are at an impasse over the issue.

India, where smartphone market is forecast to grow to 40 million by the end of 2015, has expressed its concerns that BlackBerry services could be used to stir political or social instability and has threatened RIM with a ban if denied access to the data.

Authorities in some of the Arab states and Indonesia were also reviewing the future of BlackBerry services in their countries, all citing security fears over the level of encryption employed by RIM.

While Saudi Arabia has already said it would allow BlackBerry Messenger services to continue as some of its regulatory requirements have been satisfied, UAE said it would halt BlackBerry’s messenger, e-mail and Web browsing services Oct. 11.

India, which is the second largest mobile phone market in the world after China, is expected to record more than 600,000 BlackBerry sales this year, according to Informa Telecoms & Media forecast.

RIM won a 60-day reprieve from India at the end of August after offering India a solution to monitor some BlackBerry data, a claim yet to be confirmed by the Canadian firm.