Government is exploring the adoption of a common charger for a variety of devices, including smartphones and tablets, and has call as a meeting on 17th August 2022 to discuss the issue with the industry, a senior consumer affairs ministry official said.
The meeting with mobile makers and sector-specific organisations has schedule to assess the possibility of ending the use of multiple chargers in India and reduce the burden on consumers besides preventing e-waste, the official said.
As, the European Union announce the adoption of a USB Type-C port common charging standard for small electronic devices by 2024.
A similar demand is in the US as well.
As per offcial :
“If companies can serve in Europe and the US, why cannot they do it in India? Portable electronic devices like smartphones and tablets should have a common charger,”.
If India does not push for this change, such products might get dump here, the official add.
Currently, consumers are force to buy a separate charger every time they buy a new device due to incompatibility of the ports of the existing charger.
In June, EU countries and EU lawmakers agreed to a single mobile charging port for mobile phones, tablets and cameras.
The agreement is a world first and came after companies failed to agree on a common solution.
The European Commission had push for a single mobile charging port more than a decade ago.
Users of iPhone smartphones and Android phones have long complained about having to use different chargers for their devices.
The former from Apple is charge from a Lightning cable while Android-based devices are power using USB Type-C connectors.
Half the chargers sold with mobile phones in 2018 had a USB micro-B connector, and 29% had a USB Type-C connector, and 21% a Lightning connector, according to a 2019 Commission study.
