As reported by Reuters, BIS met this week with officials from India’s Ministry of Technology, industry group MAIT and key figures in the electronic hardware industry, including Apple and Samsung, to discuss the project.
India plans to accelerate testing and safety approvals of electronic devices such as smartphones and earbuds to speed up time to market. Currently, it can take up to 20 weeks for consumer electronics to pass safety tests, but the new approval could cut that to just three days. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the country’s main body responsible for setting quality and safety standards, is considering a pilot project to end the existing sequential testing model and roll out parallel testing of electronic devices in the South Asian market. increase.
Highlights
In the current practice of serial testing, equipment goes through a series of tests one after the other in order to obtain BIS certification. This is essential for all equipment to be commercially available in the country.MAIT has asked the government to consider parallel testing, where products are simultaneously tested against various parameters set by government agencies, to ensure that Nitin Kukolienkar, honorary chairman of the group, had suggested shortening the time.
BIS and the Ministry of Technology did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The earbuds are likely to be the first devices to receive new test models, but the standards body may consider expanding the product list over time, MAIT said in a statement.
Depending on the product, the executive said introducing new models could reduce testing time from his 20 weeks to his three days. India is the world’s second largest smartphone market after China, with more than 600 million users, according to Hong Kong-based analyst firm Counterpoint.
“We are moving away from traditional methods of testing products and inventing new testing techniques and methods that we do not want to negotiate with our national security, but that we do not want to interfere with our country’s trade and business, or rob our citizens. We need a product,” he said.
Companies such as Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi are already vying for market share among domestic consumers. Faster test and security turnaround times mean faster approvals and potentially faster time to market, according to the Industry Intelligence Group of market research firm Cyber Media Research. Head Prabhu Ram told . “For Indian consumers, new testing and shorter certification deadlines will reduce the wait time for the latest consumer electronics,” he said.