New Delhi: India plans to launch a repair index for mobile phones and electronic products to address the growing problem of e-waste and encourage manufacturers to produce more easily repairable items, officials said on Thursday.
The Consumer Protection Ministry is leading the initiative. It will provide a rating based on key parameters to inform consumers about how easily a product can be repaired, officials said at a national workshop on the issue.
Addressing the workshop, Consumer Affairs Minister Nidhi Khare said, “As India grows to become the world’s third largest economy, we should have a dynamic and tech-savvy repair system.” She added, “India can become a repair hub for the world.” The proposed index will be similar to initiatives in other countries, such as France’s repair index. It will rate products on criteria such as availability of technical documents, ease of disassembly, availability of spare parts and price.
The aim of the workshop was to build consensus among industry stakeholders on “key parameters for accessing and evaluating the repair index”, promote product design durability and democratize repair information to provide consumers with a better experience in reusing their mobile phones and electronic products.
Secretary of State for Bharat Khera stressed the need for transparent and cost-effective repair solutions, increased consumer awareness and support for local repairers.
Deputy Secretary Anupam Mishra raised concerns about the lack of genuine spare parts in local markets, compatibility issues with product components and the lack of information for consumers to repair their own devices.
He also mentioned that France’s repairability index evaluates products based on five criteria, while the EU has additional parameters.
HCL Technologies founder Ajai Chowdhry called for legislation to drive change.
“Today, most products cannot be repaired. We need to develop products that can be repaired. Without a law, nothing will change,” he said.
The government has already launched a Right to Repair portal, in which 63 companies have participated, including 23 from the mobile communications and electronics sectors.
India is the third largest producer of electronic waste in the world after China and the USA.
The aim of the initiative is to reduce e-waste, promote sustainable practices and create opportunities for third-party repairers in the growing Indian electronics market.
Published August 29, 2024, 10:18 a.m. IS
