The Right to Repair Durables Is a Good Solution – Now We Need a Law

Surprisingly, because India viewed the protection of consumer rights with such importance that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution was created soon after independence and was initially run by no less than Dr. Rajendra Prasad who became the first President of India. ,

The first step was taken last week (on October 28), when the consumer affairs ministry wrote to India’s 23 leading consumer durable manufacturers to share basic information including repair centers and indicative prices for repairs and parts with a link . Single site containing such information. This is the first step towards creating a centralized repository of such information.

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Earlier this year, the ministry had initiated the process of creating a framework for consumers to have the right to repair their equipment by setting up a committee to develop it. The committee, headed by Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, has representatives from jurists, consumer activists and consumer organisations, as well as representatives of industry associations.

The formation of the committee was the result of the introduction of Lifestyle (lifestyle for the environment) in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself and thus gave its considerable weight to the concept of repair and reuse of products. Although ‘three’ The ‘R’s of Sustainability – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – have been around since the 1970s and have since expanded to include three more ‘Rs’ – Refuse, Rethink and Repair. The latter three have not received much attention, especially the repairs.

Perhaps the first step in this direction came from India’s competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India. In a 2014 order, it ordered India’s major automobile manufacturers to make repair parts and diagnostic tools readily available to all parties to not only “authorized” service agents, but equipment suppliers. also allow them to sell parts in the open market and also work towards standardization. So that the maximum number of parts of all types can be applied. This paved the way for multi-brand repair shops and also led to a drop in the price of parts, although the standardization directive has been seen more in violation.

Nevertheless, it was hoped that the order would pave the way for more such products, including a wide range of products, particularly electronic gadgets, which are notorious for being non-repairable products (it seems that a sealed phone where the battery cannot be replaced), planned obsolescence (consider withdrawing software support and security updates for older models).

These practices have been a major contributor to the growing ‘e-waste’ problem across the world. In fact, the global right to repair movement has focused on environmental impact, a major reason for giving consumers the right to repair. In India, however, the problem of e-waste is now only coming under the radar of civil administrations, who have been entrusted with the task of solid waste management. There was a more important reason for the right to repair – cost.

A recent survey by LocalCircles found that the prohibitive cost of repairing/servicing a gadget was the primary reason why one in two households surveyed chose to replace a gadget less than five years old rather than try to repair it. option was selected. Nearly a fifth of the respondents also said they had tried through a brand’s network but failed, while another 10 percent said the process of actually connecting to a brand’s service network was unclear. The findings suggested the after-sales service economy was “broken,” LocalCircle said.

The makers, of course, have opposed the idea – and not just in India. The US Fair Repair Act is only valid in the state of New York. A federal law is still pending in the Senate. The UK passed rules on the right to repair last year, which makes it mandatory for manufacturers to provide service support for up to 10 years after sales, while the EU has rules covering repairs under its anti-waste laws. It is high time India followed a comprehensive law on the right to repair.

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