Government proposes new Right to Repair norms

July 15, 2022 Hot from the Oven Valli Sarvani No comments

To provide great relief to consumers of electronics and many gadgets, the government of India proposes a new right to repair norms.

The manufacturers of gadgets must offer repair services for their products like mobile phones, laptops, automobiles, consumer durables etc.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has come up with a regulatory framework on a right to repair various products as mentioned above.

As per the proposed norms, manufacturers of mobile phones, laptops etc., should not restrict the repairs of their products and force their consumers to buy a new product.

They should share their product details with their consumers so that they can repair these products themselves or by third parties.

Currently, manufacturers are restricting the repair of their products. It results in the forcible purchase of a new model of their products.

Besides, the manufacturers are encouraging a culture of planned obsolescence. They design the products in such a way that they will be useful for a limited period. After that they have to be replaced as the products will become obsolete.

The Ministry aims to stop the practice. Manufacturers should provide consumers and third parties with complete knowledge of their parts and tools and access to manuals and software updates so that minor glitches can be addressed without buying a new product.

The demand for the Right to Repair is growing in many countries, like the US, UK etc. The Ministry says that the right to repair will be rolled out soon in India. It will become a game-changer in the country.

It empowers consumers. It promotes employment generation as it allows third-party repairs. Thus, it will harmonize trade between the product makers and manufacturers and third-party buyers and sellers.

The Ministry also says that best practices from across the globe in this regard will be adopted for Indian markets.

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