Government committee recommends that smartphones and tablets manufacturers rate the repairability of their devices

As far as consumer protection is concerned, the government will ensure that the manufacturers of smartphones and tablets must grade or rate the product after repair. The companies will need to provide this rating on the 'Repairability Index'. This will help consumers in making the correct decision regarding purchasing that product. For this reason, a report was brought before the government by a committee on Friday, suggesting that there should be a rating system in place regarding the repairability of digital products.

This framework has been finalized by the committee under Additional Secretary Bharat Khera in the Consumer Affairs Ministry after industry and consumer bodies arrived at an understanding. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare stated, the report has been submitted by the committee to the ministry. The ministry will come up with some guidelines after considering these recommendations. He stated that companies are not producing long-term products. They are, on the contrary, compelling consumers to purchase something else because they have decided to discontinue them.

Committee head Bharat Khera said, under this system, smartphones and tablets will be included in the first phase. Laptops, desktops and other products can be included in the next phase. At present, it is proposed to keep feature phones out of this rating, but its scope can gradually increase in future. If a service is satisfactory, it will get a rating of five, while if it is mediocre, it will get a rating of three.

The Consumer Affairs Secretary said, the purpose behind bringing this index is that smartphone and electronic manufacturing companies should be sensitive towards their responsibility of providing an environment related to the repair of devices. Products will be rated on the basis of this index so that consumers can take decisions based on it.

The committee has recommended a five-point rating scale. It should be prominently displayed at sales centers, packaging and website. Device manufacturers will be responsible for announcing these ratings. The rating of mobile phones will be based on several parameters, including repairability of key components such as display screen, battery, camera, charging port and speakers, ease of dismantling, availability of spare parts and software update policies.