THE CONTEXT: India’s proposed Repairability Index (RI) for mobile phones and electronic appliances marks a watershed in consumer jurisprudence. By shifting the debate from “buy-and-discard” to “repair-and-reuse,” the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) seeks to operationalise a circular-economy ideal in line with the Union Budget 2024-25 pledge to “transition from linear consumption to resource circularity.”
THE RATIONALE:
| Problem Driver | Empirical Marker | Policy Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Planned obsolescence & leaner engineering | 22 % fall in copper content in entry-level washing machines between 2018-24 (Attero Recycling field survey) | Raises Total Cost of Ownership for low-income households. |
| E-waste surge | 1.6 million t generated in 2023; 90 % handled informally (Central Pollution Control Board) | Violates Extended Producer Responsibility targets under E-Waste (Management) Rules 2022. |
| Import dependence for critical metals | India imports ≈ 65 % of its copper needs (Ministry of Mines) | Supply shocks inflate device prices; repair extends product life and dampens demand for “virgin” metals. |
| Consumer grievance load | “Non-availability of spare parts” is the second-highest category on the National Consumer Helpline (2024) | Directly engages Consumer Protection Act 2019 guarantees of “right to be informed” and “right to choose.” |
CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS:
| India’s Draft Framework | France’s 2021 Index | New York Digital Fair Repair Act 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score band | 1-10, self-declared by manufacturers | 0-10, self-declared | Not a score; mandates parts/manuals access |
| Criteria | Availability & cost of spares, diagnostic info, software support, ease of disassembly | Five similar pillars | Same four pillars entrenched in statute |
| Display | Point-of-sale label, e-commerce listing, QR code | Mandatory price-tag sticker | Not applicable |
| Penalties | To be notified under Legal Metrology Act rules | ≤ €15,000 per breach | Attorney-General enforcement |
INDIAN POLICY LANDSCAPE:
-
- Right-to-Repair Portal (July 2023) – lists authorised service centres and technical manuals for four product verticals.
- Consumer Protection Act 2019 – Sections 2(11) & 2(47) treat after-sale service as a component of “defect,” enabling redressal for denial of repair.
- E-Waste (Management) Rules 2022 – mandates producers to finance collection and refurbishment targets up to 60 % of sales volume by 2027-28.
- Quality Control Orders 2024 under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) – make service-life declarations mandatory for 30 categories of home appliances.
- Draft Digital Competition Bill 2025 – flags “self-preferencing in repair services” as a potential Systemically Significant Digital Enterprise abuse.
THE CHALLENGES:
-
- Monopoly Over Spare Parts and Diagnostic Tools: The Competition Commission of India’s path-breaking Shamsher Kataria v. Honda Siel (2014) order held that automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) “denied market access” to independent garages by tying spare-parts sales to authorised service centres. Although the Supreme Court stay (2018) keeps penalties in abeyance, the factual findings stand; OEM contracts prohibited suppliers from selling parts to third-party repairers, inflating after-sales prices, and curbing consumer choice.
- Intellectual Property and Safety Defences Raised by OEMs: Manufacturers invoke copyright over firmware, patents for specialised fasteners, and even the Securities of IoT Act 2020 (United States) to justify “no field diagnostics” clauses. Yet, the Competition Commission of India’s order drew a clear line that intellectual property rights cannot be used to create aftermarket monopolies. It runs afoul of the “reasonable restrictions” test under Article 19 (1)(g)—the freedom to practise any profession—because it excludes 4.5 lakh micro-repair units from legitimate access to parts.
- Informal Repair Ecosystem and Fiscal Blind Spots: India hosts over 80,000 mobile-phone repair shops, of which 94 percent are single-owner entities operating outside the Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit chain. The absence of standardised invoices means:
- Traceability of spare parts is poor, undermining both consumer warranty claims and law-enforcement efforts against counterfeit components.
- Workers miss social-security nets—contradicting the Code on Social Security 2020 mandate of portability for gig and platform workers.
- Measurement and Disclosure Gaps: Unlike France, which publishes a Repairability Index Open Database covering 3,000 product Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs), India lacks a statistically robust Product-Service-Life (PSL) database. The proposed Repairability Index relies on self-declaration; without random third-party audits the scores risk becoming marketing gimmicks. National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories has only 17 labs accredited for lifecycle testing, far short of the demand projected by the Bureau of Indian Standards for 150 product categories.
- Rising E-Waste and Resource Security Concerns: Central Pollution Control Board data show e-waste generation reached 6 million tonnes in 2023, yet formal collection channels handled just 10 percent. Simultaneously India imports 65 percent of its copper—a key input for motors and printed-circuit boards—leaving the economy vulnerable to commodity price spikes. Extending device life through repair therefore doubles as a supply-chain hedge, but repair obstacles push consumers toward premature replacement, worsening the e-waste backlog.
THE WAY FORWARD:
| 1. Notify a Statutory Repairability Index under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2025 | The Department of Consumer Affairs should insert a new Rule 9B requiring every smartphone, laptop and white-goods package to carry a Repairability Index label scored on a 1–10 scale. Inspectors under Section 15 of the Legal Metrology Act (2009) can then seize goods that carry deceptive scores, while the Central Consumer Protection Authority may order recalls under Section 19 of the Consumer Protection Act (2019). |
| 2. Create an “Open Spare-Parts Data Bank” on the Right-to-Repair Portal | DoCA should require every Original Equipment Manufacturer to file real-time stock-keeping-unit–wise inventories and maximum retail prices of priority spare parts. Application-Programming-Interface feeds would allow unorganised repairers to generate Goods and Services Tax e-invoices and claim Input-Tax Credit, thereby formalising an estimated 450,000 micro-repair units. |
| 3. Amend Indian Standard 302-Part 1 (Safety of Household Appliances) to embed a compulsory “Design-for-Disassembly” metric | The Bureau of Indian Standards should add a new Annex ZA prescribing tool-free access to batteries, modular fasteners, and colour-coded wiring. Products that earn ≥ 70 percent on the annex could receive a one-percent bonus under Production Linked Incentive 2.0 for electronics. |
| 4. Re-balance Goods and Services Tax: five percent on certified repair labour and spare parts; retain eighteen percent on “virgin” devices older than three years | The GST Council can deploy its powers under Article 279A to emulate Sweden, which halved its Value-Added-Tax rate on repairs in 2016 and again in 2022, boosting the repair trade by an estimated eleven percent. |
| 5. Insert a “Repairability Preference Clause” in the Public Procurement (Preference to Make-in-India) Order, 2017 | Ministries purchasing electronics worth about ₹16 000 crore annually should buy only devices scoring at least seven on the Repairability Index. |
| 6. Pass a “Portable Warranty and Third-Party Repair Safeguard Bill” | Modeled on the United States Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (1975), the Bill would declare any clause that voids a warranty merely because a consumer used an independent repairer to be an unfair trade practice. The Central Consumer Protection Authority may impose civil penalties, while the Competition Commission can treat repeat offences as “self-preferencing” under the forthcoming Digital Competition Bill 2025. |
THE CONCLUSION:
The Repairability Index, if buttressed by muscular disclosure norms, fiscal nudges and competitive safeguards, can convert the right to repair from a portal-based courtesy to a legally enforceable consumer entitlement. In doing so, India would not only cut e-waste but also embed citizen-centricity at the heart of its circular-economy transition.
UPSC PAST YEAR QUESTION:
Q. What are the impediments in disposing of the huge quantities of discarded solid waste which are continuously being generated? How do we safely remove the toxic wastes that have been accumulating in our habitable environment? (2018)
MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:
Q. Discuss the significance of the Right to Repair movement in promoting sustainable consumption and consumer rights in India. Analyze the challenges in its implementation and suggest measures to overcome them.
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