Bureau of Indian Standards publishes standard for USB Type C receptacles, plugs and cables.

While from an environmental standpoint, the potential standardisation of charging ports appears to be a step in the right direction, however, there is a need to carefully assess the long-term and short-term implications of this move and the government must consider other relevant factors prior to the mandatory implementation of this Standard in India. For instance, the European Union, prior to amending its Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU for standardizing chargers, conducted a detailed Impact Assessment and submitted the Impact Assessment Report which carefully investigates and analyses economic, social and environmental impacts in assessing the policy options. Other significant impacts such as impact on consumers’ perspective and convenience, effects on the industry, SMEs, innovation, competitiveness were also analyzed in the report. For example, the report notes that “the environmental impact from the fact that USB Type C cables and connectors are heavier (by 21.6% to Lightning and 237% to USB micro-B) are larger than the reduction from standalones sales of cables”. Therefore, while in the long run, the potential harmonisation of charging solutions is likely to benefit environmentally, it is important that all potential impacts due to the change in this policy are carefully analyzed by the government. A phased out implementation is ideal for the Indian context as most consumers retain their devices (and in turn, the chargers) for longer periods than average.