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the time to come, importers of electronic goods and hardware will
have to undergo stringent quality check of the products that they are
importing into the country. The Indian government through the
Ministry of Communications and IT, Department of IT is drafting a
policy that indicates mandatory quality norms for 16 electronic items
including computers, printers, and mobile phones.
on this, Alok Bhardwaj, president, Manufacturer's Association of IT
Industry (MAIT)
said, “In recent years, there has been a surge in demand for IT
hardware in the Indian market. Also, with the current 'almost zero
duty structure' has led to a significant increase in the import of
IT hardware. So, apart from established brands, now we are seeing the
market flooding with unknown brands. These unknown brands are not of
good quality, thus creating multiple issues. This scenario has
prompted the government to devise such policy.”
Nangia, additional director, department of IT said, “We are
planning to establish a regime of standards. We have identified a set
of products that now needs to be compulsorily registered
under the registration scheme notification of Consumer Affairs
Ministry. In the first phase, we are focusing only on the safety
standards.”
key agenda coming out with this policy is to curb the menace created
by unscrupulous, spurious
and unknown brands that have flooded the Indian market. The policy is
being drafted by Department of Information Technology (DIT) in
consultation with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Under the scanner
will be 16 categories including computer systems, printers, monitors,
scanners, keyboards, DVD players, set-top boxes, television set,
telephones, music systems, radios, electronic games, microwave ovens,
public address systems/reception apparatus, electronic clocks, and
automatic data processing machines.
quality centric policy will focus on certain key criterion like
energy consumption, electromagnetic
wave compatibility, safety and waste creation. Energy consumption is
on the key list as many imported products do not have energy
efficient or saving component. Similarly, many devices emit
electromagnetic waves which are not permissible as per the Indian
law. Also, the quality of products, at times, is poor which creates
safety issues, that is why, this parameter is on the list.
waste creation from disposed goods, at times, generates hazardous
fumes, leading to health issues. For example, Cadmium is not allowed
as per the Indian law but there have been instances where imported
goods have been traced with this chemical element. Thus, this
category is on the charts. The plan is to establish an infrastructure
to physically test the products in the market. If the products will
fail the test, action will be taken accordingly, which could either
be a ban or a penalty.
added, “Currently, we don't have adequate infrastructure to
conduct electromagnetic compatibility
test as the equipment are very expensive.”
further added, “Many products need to be compatible with our
network. It is the right time we define standards, like standard for
usage, power consumption, climatic condition, voltage condition to be
ensured by products that are imported.”
has been observed and reported about the surge in the import of
sub-standard quality products from other countries especially China.
Most of the developed countries have stringent
policies in place, and it is high time that our country also had one.
this thought, Bhardwaj said, “The current scenario calls for a
policy to put in place a parameter-check on the quality of products
imported to our country. There is definitely a need to keep a tab on
the electronic products dumped in India.” International Trade
Agreement, which facilitates smooth movement of goods, does not give
any other country a right to dump products in India. Such policy is a
necessity, as a country can not have any stringent measures on issues
like anti-dumping.
IT department is currently working on the policy and currently, it is
in gestation phase. Further, there are plans to create a separate
division under the IT department which will be responsible to work on
this policy and regulate entire eco-system with regard to imports.
However, it will take couple of months to come out with a concrete
draft. On the other hand, when this policy will be rolled out, it has
the potential to change the dynamics of the industry, especially with
regard to cheap Chinese imports directly impacting the pricing of
products.