BIS flayed for delay in framing cell-phone safety standards -Governance Now

BIS flayed for delay in framing cell-phone safety standards

CAG report tabled in parliament underlines need for formulation of guidelines

PTI | August 31, 2012

The CAG has slammed the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for delay in finalising safety standards for mobiles phones.

"The fact remains that standards on important aspects i.e. mobile handsets, radiation from mobile phones, etc. had not been formulated so far," the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in the report tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

There have been reports of mobile phones malfunctioning and even exploding, causing injuries to people. The Indian Cellular Association (ICA) had underlined the need to develop an Indian standard for mobile phone handsets, it said.

"The proposal for formulation of a standard was received in November 2010. However, even the draft standard has not been finalised as of June, 2012," it said.

Underlining the need for formulation of Indian standards for mobile phones, the CAG said India represents over 11 per cent of the world mobile market and the same is expected to increase to 13.4 per cent by 2013.

As a result, there would be demand for approximately 200 million handsets in 2013 alone. "With such a high demand, not only is the Indian market increasing, but the import of substandard mobile phones is also rising," it said.

The domestic standards are important as the World Health Organisation had last year confirmed that mobile phone use might represent a long-term health risk, classifying mobile phone radiation as a 'carcinogenic hazard', it added.

In Europe, the CAG said the standards framed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute have been in force for a number of years on subjects related to mobile phone handsets, usage and disposal.

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