India’s consumer affairs ministry said Thursday it has set up a committee to develop a “right to repair” framework. By legislating to allow third parties to repair consumers’ devices, it is expected to counter the growing culture of “planned obsolescence” that benefits cell phones, tablets, consumer durables, automobiles, and agriculture, among other sectors.
Similar right-to-repair legislation has previously been pushed in countries such as the UK and US (Photo via iFixit)
In a statement, India’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs said that during the meeting, emphasis was also placed on how companies could publish relevant manuals that would help users to repair easily.
During the deliberations, there was general agreement that technology companies should provide complete schematic paper, access to repair manuals and software updates, and that the software licensing level should not limit transparency in the sale of products.
In addition, parts and related tools needed for repair and diagnosis should be made available to third-party repair facilities and individuals.
Fortunately, India has a vibrant third-party repair market, including those for circular economy downtime spare parts products.
The committee is said to be chaired by Nidhi Khare, Deputy Minister of Consumer Affairs, with other members including industry bodies and stakeholders.
For example, the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), and many consumer advocacy organizations and sensationalists.
The right-to-repair framework will be developed to benefit a wide range of consumers in the local market. It will also help reduce e-waste and create more jobs by encouraging trade in repair parts between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and third parties.
Once implemented in India, the Right to Repair Act will be a game changer for product sustainability.
For a long time before, everyone’s right to repair was severely restricted.
Not only was it time-consuming and costly, but it was also sometimes exceptionally costly.
But ultimately, it was because consumers had little or no choice.
For reference, last year the U.K. and the U.S. adopted new regulations to ensure the repairability of devices, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning to hardware manufacturers that may have “illegal repair restrictions.
In March, Samsung introduced a “self-service” model for its Galaxy devices. Apple has also launched a self-service repair program for its new iPhone for U.S. consumers.
As to when India will establish and implement the Right to Repair Act, please wait patiently for the implementation details to be announced.
