It will rate products based on criteria including availability of technical documents and ease of disassembly.
India is planning a repairability index for mobile phones and electronic products to tackle the growing problem of electronic waste and encourage manufacturers to produce more easily repairable items, officials said Thursday.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is spearheading the initiative, which will provide a score on key parameters to inform consumers about how easily a product can be repaired, officials said at a national workshop on the topic.
Addressing the workshop, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said, “As India emerges as the third largest economy in the world, we should have a dynamic and technologically savvy redressal system.”
He also added: “India can become a repair centre for the world.”
The proposed index will be similar to initiatives in other countries, such as France’s repairability index, and will rate products based on criteria such as availability of technical documents, ease of disassembly, availability of spare parts and price.
The workshop aimed to establish a consensus among industry players on the “key parameters for accessing and assessing the repairability index,” as well as promote longevity in product design and democratize repair information to improve consumer experiences in reusing the mobile and electronic products they own.
Additional Secretary Bharat Khera stressed the need for transparent and affordable repair solutions, increased consumer awareness and support to local repairers.
Joint Secretary Anupam Mishra highlighted concerns over lack of genuine spare parts in local markets, compatibility issues with product components and absence of information for consumers to repair their own devices.
He also mentioned that France’s Reparability Index rates 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 design products that can be repaired… Unless we create a law, things will not change,” he said.
The government has already launched a Right to Repair Portal, with 63 companies signed up, including 23 from the mobile and electronics sector.
India is the third largest producer of electronic waste worldwide, after China and the United States.
The initiative aims to reduce e-waste, promote sustainable practices and create opportunities for third-party repairers in India’s growing electronics market.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 29, 2024 | 15:33 IS
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