As much as 76% of light emitting diode, or LED, bulbs sold in India do not comply with the government’s safety standards, market research firm Nielsen found in a survey, Reuters reported. India has a $1-billion (Rs-6,477 crore) market for LED bulbs.
The Nielsen report was based on a study of 200 electrical retail outlets in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and New Delhi in July. It found that several products were spurious, with the highest violations in the national Capital.
The survey found that 48% of bulb brands did not mention the manufacturer’s address, and 31% did not have a manufacturer’s name.
“The spurious and non-branded LED products are a serious threat to not just the organised and compliant market players but also to the government’s key programs like Make in India,” the Nielsen report said, adding that these fake products hurt the government’s tax revenue collections, “defeated investment objectives and went against the ‘ease of doing’ business philosophy”.
India has been tightening control over the quality of consumer and capital goods. In August, the Bureau of Indian Standards had ordered LED makers to register products for safety checks to combat the influx of Chinese goods.
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