Right to repair: Indian consumers may soon pay less for car, phone repairs

The Department of Consumer Affairs is working on a 'Right to Repair' framework as it looks to empower consumers so that they don't remain dependent only on original equipment manufacturers for aftersales service or repairs.

The right to repair framework also aims to reduce e-waste and encourage sustainable consumption of products.

Once it is rolled out in India, it will become a game-changer both for the sustainability of the products and as well as serve as a catalyst for employment generation through Aatmanirbhar Bharat by allowing third-party repairs, the Department of Consumer Affairs says in a statement.

This comes at a time when one in two households with less than five-year-old devices and appliances say they are unable to get them repaired because of prohibitive costs, according to a survey by LocalCircles.

The survey found that 43% of the Indian households that participated had three or more devices at home that were less than five-year-old and needed service or repair. Devices included gadgets like a laptop, desktop, smartphone, printer, tablet, etc.

With the right to repair scheme, the government plans to make it mandatory for manufacturers to give detailed drawings of their products while selling them. The proposed framework will also ensure that spare parts for repairs are easily available, which is among the most common complaints of consumers when they approach manufacturers for gadget and white good repairs, according to LocalCircles.

To develop a comprehensive framework, the government has set up a committee which will be chaired by Department of Consumer Affairs additional secretary Nidhi Khare. The committee includes representatives from various industry bodies like India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The committee, at its first meeting held on July 13, 2022, identified sectors such as farming equipment, mobile phones, tablets, consumer durables and automobiles under the right to repair framework.

Manufacturers have proprietary control over spare parts regarding the kind of design they use, the government says, adding that monopoly on repair processes infringes the customer's "right to choose".

"Manufacturers are encouraging a culture of 'planned obsolescence'. This is a system whereby the design of any gadget is such that it lasts a particular time only and after that particular period it has to be mandatorily replaced. When contracts fail to cede full control to the buyer-the legal right of owners are damaged," the Department of Consumer Affairs says.

Tech companies should provide complete knowledge and access to manuals, schematics, and software updates and to which the software licence shouldn't limit the transparency of the product in sale, it adds.

The parts and tools to service devices, including diagnostic tools should be made available to third parties, including individuals so that the product can be repaired if there are minor glitches.

The right to repair has been recognised in many countries across the globe, including the U.S., U.K and European Union. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission has directed manufacturers to remedy unfair anti-competitive practices and asked them to make sure that consumers can make repairs, either themselves or by a third-party agency.

Recently, the U.K also passed a law that includes all the electronic appliance manufacturers to provide the consumers with spare parts for getting the repair done either by themselves or by the local repair shops.

In Australia, repair cafes are a remarkable feature of the Australian system. These are free meeting places where volunteer repairmen gather to share their repairing skills. The European Union passed legislation that required manufacturers to supply parts of products to professional repairmen for a time of 10 years.