What’s in the news?

• The Government of India has launched a right to repair portal which would allow customers to exit the ambit of manufacturers in the event of their equipment failing, and seek repairs elsewhere.
• On the ‘right to repair’ portal, manufacturers will share the manual of product details with customers so that they can either repair the gadgets themselves or have them repaired by third parties, rather than depend on original manufacturers.
• Initially, the portal would cover mobile phones, electronic, consumer durables, automobile and farming equipment.
• The right to repair allows consumers to repair and modify their own consumer products against the manufacturer requiring them to use their services either by restricting access to tools and components or putting in place software barriers.
• The right emanated from the idea that when a customer bought a product, it was inherent that they owned it completely. For this, the customer should be able to repair and modify the product without being bound by the manufacturer’s rules and to be free from proprietary controls.
• It was proposed that allowing right to repair would allow the growth of repair shops. It would also prevent customers from discarding gadgets that were deemed difficult or expensive to repair with the original manufacturers.

reference:

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/251222/right-to-repairs-gets-e-portal.html