Have you ever encountered a repair issue with your electronic devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, computers, or smart TVs? Most of us would say yes because we use these products daily, and they are prone to every possible accident. When one of these products breaks down, repair of these items may become a herculean task in different forms, like: lack of authentic service centres and spare parts, waiting time spanning from days to weeks, non-reliability of replaced parts, compatibility issues of parts and software for long-used devices and gadgets. The problem does not start when these electronic items break down, but it starts very early: when we search for a mobile or laptop and buy it while unaware of the ease of repairability of these products. Some of us don’t even think about repair issues of the product at the time of purchase, as either we are preconceived with the notion that we are buying the best product in the market, which is not going to break down any time soon, or we are made to think in that way by a persuasive dealership at shops.
This concern has already been reflected in the analysis of grievances received at the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), indicating that a large number of consumers face issues while seeking repair for their mobile phones and tablets. As per data of National Consumer Helpline, there has been a significant rise in complaints in the Mobiles and Tablets product category from 19,057 in 2022-2023, followed by 21,020 in 2023-2024 and further to 22,864 in 2024-2025, which also highlighted a pressing need to improve repair accessibility and ensure greater transparency of repair and post-sale service-related information to consumers. Just think, these numbers only include those consumers who registered their grievances at the consumer helpline, while most of us end up with a new mobile or any other electronic device.
Given this growing demand for a robust repair ecosystem and for combating the practice of “planned obsolescence” (means selling consumers less durable products intentionally so that they come back to buy newer models), the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) had launched the Right to Repair Portal India in 2022, to facilitate relevant repair associated information between the companies and consumers in 04 (four) sectors namely: Automobile, Mobile and Electronics, Consumer Durables which includes refrigerators, air-conditioners, washing machines, vacuum cleaners etc., and Farming Equipment.
Among these four sectors, mobile and electronics have the fastest-growing demand and shortest lifespan, along with a rising number of repair-related issues. To address this, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), Government of India, has constituted a committee of experts to recommend a robust framework for the Repairability Index in the Mobile and Electronics sector in September 2024.
What is the Repairability Index? The ‘repairability index’ is a label that manufacturers would display on electrical and electronic equipment to provide information about the repairability of the product.
Aim of Repairability Index: It aims to create an ecosystem where consumers choose options that align with the ethos of ‘mindful utilization’ of their products over ‘wasteful consumption’ by empowering consumers with ease and hassle-free repair options, along with creating a self-reliant, sustainable, and consumer-friendly economy.
In the first week of May 2025, the committee submitted its recommendations to the DoCA, identifying smartphones and tablets as a product category to be brought under the Repairability Index regime in the initial phase of the Repairability Index in the Mobile and Electronics Sector.
Recommendations of the Committee:
- The Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are required to self-declare the Repairability Index based on a standards scoring criteria provided in the framework, with no additional compliance burden.
- The Repairability Index should be displayed at the point of sale/purchase, on E-commerce platforms, and in the form of a QR code on packaged products to enable consumers to make informed choices.
The recommendations given by the committee are yet to come in force but, it is hoped that most of the recommendations will be accepted for guidelines to the manufacturers of Mobiles and Tablets as the committee have already included the stakeholder from the industry with companies like Apple., Samsung, Google, Vivo, HMD Mobiles., Dell, HP along with the prominent industry associations like ICEA and MAIT; representatives from consumer organisations like EPIC(Electronic Privacy Information Center); Members of academia and senior officials of DoCA, Meity, MSME; and scientific organisations such as NTH and BIS.
