Paper: GS – III, Subject: Environment, Ecology and Disaster Management, Topic: Waste Management, Issue: Significance of the right to repair.
Context:
In May 2025, the Indian government accepted a report proposing a Repairability Index for mobile phones and appliances.E-waste policies were updated to include minimum payments for incentivising formal recycling.
Key Highlights:
Importance of the ‘Right to Repair‘:
- Environmental Sustainability: It aligns with circular economy principles and promotes reuse, reduces e-waste, and supports climate goals.
- Economic Efficiency: It encourages innovation and DIY repair culture besides supporting informal repair markets and self-reliance.
- Knowledge Preservation: Traditional, tacit knowledge in India such as Karol Bagh, Chennai’s Ritchie Street possess skills such as improvisation, sensory diagnosis, and part reuse which needs to be leveraged.
Issues with the Current approach towards “Right to Repair”:
Global “Right to Repair” initiatives:
Indian Initiatives:
- E-Waste Rules (2022): Emphasises Producer Responsibility Enforcement and focuses on post-use product management.
- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): Encourages vocational training in repair but limited in scope.
- National Education Policy (NEP 2020): Recognizes vocational learning, but implementation is limited.
Way ahead:
- Include Repairability Index in Procurement: Public procurement should prioritise repair-friendly designs.
- Recognise Informal Repairers as Knowledge Stewards: Treat their work as essential to sustainability.
- Institutional Support:
- Ministries like Skill Development and Education must include repair traditions.
- Certification and training must account for tacit and hands-on skills.
- Create Open Knowledge Platforms:
- Archive repair stories, videos, manuals.
- Allow easy access to community repair knowledge.
Conclusion:
The ‘Right to Repair’ should go beyond access to tools and manuals it must include the ‘Right to Remember’, i.e., preserving and passing on tacit repair knowledge. Recognising repair not just as a service but as a form of knowledge work is essential for building a sustainable and inclusive digital economy.
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