New Delhi: The Indian government intends to implement the shared charging policy of the European Union. In other words, the country may soon implement a policy that requires all mobile phones (regardless of brand) and other portable electronic devices to use the same charger. According to a PTI report, the Indian government will soon form an expert group to examine the adoption of universal chargers for mobile phones and other portable electronic devices, a policy that has already been approved by the European Union.
A common charger can be adopted in the country to address the issues of e-waste and provide relief to the consumers. The decision to form an expert team was taken after an hour-long meeting with stakeholders under the chairmanship of consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh.
According to PTI, Ajay Choudhary, chairman of Electronics Products Innovation Consortium (EPIC) Foundation and founder of HCL, Rajkumar Rishi, president of Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT), Pankaj Mohindru, chairman of India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), Consumer Electronics and Eric Braganza, President of Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEMA) and Eric Braganza, President of Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA) participated in the meeting.
Singh said at the end of the meeting that the general charger policy is a “complex issue”. “India has a place in charger manufacturing.” Before making a final decision, we need to understand everyone’s perspective – industry, users, manufacturers and the environment,” he said.
In the meeting, each participant shared their unique perspectives and rated how switching to a standard charger would impact the market, consumers and the environment. Noting that India is a charger manufacturer and exporter for many countries, most of the stakeholders agreed that it is necessary to assess the impact of common charger policy. Additionally, it was also stated that if the policy is to be implemented, it should not be applied to them as many Indians use low-cost feature phones, and switching to a standard charger would prevent these phones. cost may increase.
Singh said that India may initially consider switching to two different types of chargers: USB Type-C and a few others. Now that the situation is more complicated, Singh said, “We have decided to form an expert group to conduct the study and submit recommendations within two months.” He clarified that separate expert groups will be set up to examine the charging ports used by three different categories of electronic devices: mobiles and feature phones, laptops and tablets, and wearable electronics.
In June, European Union (EU) lawmakers reached an agreement that required all upcoming smartphones sold in the market to have a universal USB-C port. Simply put, every phone that enters the market after the fall of 2024, regardless of brand, should have a USB-C port. The law also holds true for Apple iPhones, which have a Lightning port at the moment. Currently, reports indicate that Apple is developing iPhones with USB-C ports. We can anticipate USB-C replacing the Lightning port on iPhones in 2023 or 2024, given that some countries are considering implementing a general charger policy.
