Govt to set up expert committees to assess possibility of common mobile phone charger

The government has stated clearly that it wants to create a standard for mobile device charging, but it hasn’t set a deadline since it needs to have broad industry consultations. Three expert panels will likely be formed to investigate the situation.

The government and interested parties had preliminary discussions on how to develop such a standard across devices such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smart speakers, wireless earphones, and smartwatches on Wednesday.

While smartphone brands claimed they were already close to having USB-C type charging ports as a common standard, with the exception of feature phones, IT hardware manufacturers like Dell and HP opposed the move at the meeting between officials of the consumer affairs ministry, electronics manufacturers, and industry stakeholders.

As the source further indicates, the purpose of a conference with industry-specific organizations was to discuss options to stop India from using a range of different chargers, which could both ease customer burdens and help prevent e-waste.