The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India has launched the Right to Repair Portal India (https://righttorepairindia.gov.in/) to provide consumers with an easy access to information for repairing their products and enabling them to reuse it, thereby contributing to the circular economy as well as reduction of e-waste in a hassle-free manner.

In an effort to uphold consumer rights and respond to evolving concerns regarding hassle free product repairs, a meeting was convened under the Chairmanship of Smt. Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) with Automobile Associations and their partner companies in the Automobile Sector. The objective was to onboard companies onto the Right to Repair Portal India.

In the meeting, it was emphasized that products that cannot be repaired or are subject to planned obsolescence—designed with an artificially limited lifespan—contribute to e-waste and compel consumers to purchase new products due to lack of repair options or extremely expensive repair options for reuse. Therefore, the goal is to eliminate obstacles such as restricted access to tools or repair information, ensuring that consumers have complete ownership of the products they purchase.

Over time, it has been noted that repair services are increasingly constrained due to significant delays in service and absence of repair documentation for vehicles. Additionally, products are sometimes repaired at excessively high costs, leaving consumers dissatisfied with repair services which often delays repairs, even if necessary, due to limited repair options. A major constraint is also the availability of genuine spare parts at affordable prices. Often their unavailability   at affordable prices, forces consumers towards purchasing counterfeit spare parts from the grey markets. Further, lack of accessible information for minor repairs or Do it yourself guides, exacerbates consumer distress, adding to their financial burden and overall dissatisfaction.

Secretary, Smt. Khare emphasized the need to enhance efforts towards democratization of repair manuals/videos accessible to all, fostering a robust ecosystem for third-party repair services, and establishing standards for them. She also laid stress on offering roadside assistance to consumers, esp. on highways and introducing a repairability index of the automotive that provide information on the life of the product, easy repair ecosystem, availability of spare parts, detailed manual on self-repair, warranty on different parts etc. These measures aim to empower consumers with informed choices regarding the post-sales service of their products, besides ease in enjoying their products fully. The meeting concluded with the consensus on to on board the Right to Repair Portal and adopting a greater collaborative approach in providing a vibrant post sale services to the consumers.

The discussions also covered topics such as aligning standardization of parts along with standardization of skilled workmanship, companies developing catalogs that should benefit consumers for post-purchase service and longevity of products life, and measures for addressing deceptive practices in repair workshops in the name of motor insurance that contribute to unnecessary generation of plastic waste.

In this regard, all companies were urged to on board on the unified Right to Repair Portal India which encompasses to facilitate and works as catalyst for providing relevant repair associated information between the consumers and companies. The information includes:

1. Access to product manuals/ repair videos (by linking the websites and youtube channels of the companies);
2. Address the concern on the price and warranty of spare parts;
3. Explicit mention on differences in liability covered guarantee, warranty and extended warranty;
4. Details of Companies Service Centre across India and Recognition third-parties repairers, if any, by the companies and
5. Information on country of origin to be explicitly mentioned.

Some companies like TVS have shared their post-onboarding experiences on the portal. Companies including TATA Motors and TVS discussed how, based on complaints received from the National Consumer Helpline, they identified key repair issues and subsequently created repair videos accessible to consumers via their official YouTube channels. Additionally, associations like ACMA emphasized the Automotive Skill Development Council's role in facilitating and supporting training youth for automotive skills in the dynamic and innovative market landscape.

The meeting was attended by various representatives of  Automobile Associations like ACMA, SIAM, ATMA, EPIC Foundation and Companies including TATA Motors, Mahindra, TVS, Royal Enfield, Renaulds and Bosch, Yamaha Motors India, Honda Car India were also present.

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