Context:

India has endorsed a proposal to introduce a Repairability Index for electronic products — a significant move toward formalizing the Right to Repair as a consumer right. However, experts caution that India's informal repair ecosystem remains overlooked in digital and AI-related policy frameworks.

What is the Right to Repair?

• Definition: The Right to Repair allows consumers to repair and modify their products or seek affordable third-party services, rather than depending solely on manufacturers.
• Global Trends:
  • EU: Enforces access to spare parts and repair manuals.
  • USA & UN: Promote repair as part of sustainability efforts (SDG 12).
• Indian Measures:
  • In 2023, the Department of Consumer Affairs launched a Right to Repair Portal, covering sectors like electronics, automobiles, and agricultural equipment.

Why Repair is More Than a Consumer Right

1. Informal Repair Economy:
   • India's repair ecosystem is rooted in tacit knowledge, passed down informally via observation and mentorship.
   • Examples: Karol Bagh (Delhi), Ritchie Street (Chennai).
2. Cultural and Economic Value:
   • Reflects India's tradition of jugaad, frugality, and reuse — key to sustainability and e-waste reduction.
   • Informal repairers form an unorganised yet vital workforce in the circular economy.
3. Loss of Repair Literacy:
   • Rise of disposable goods and sealed devices threatens indigenous repair skills and reduces the societal value of reuse.
4. Repair as Cultural Heritage:
   • Regional repair practices demonstrate innovation and adaptive reuse — a form of technological heritage.

Policy Gaps in the Digital and Skill Framework

• E-Waste Rules (2022): Emphasize recycling but neglect repair as a preventive solution.
• PMKVY (Skill India): Offers rigid training modules that don’t align with the improvisational nature of real-world repair.
• Digital & AI Frameworks:
  • NSAI & DPI: Focus on structured data, excluding informal, human-centric knowledge.
• NEP 2020: Despite valuing experiential learning, it fails to recognize repair work as a valid skill domain.
• Legal Invisibility: Informal repairers lack certification, legal rights, or recognition in the digital economy.

Way Forward: Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Repair Ecosystems

1. Strengthen Standards & Indexing:
   • Embed repairability into public procurement, AI systems, and hardware standards.
   • Implement a Repairability Index to classify products and ensure transparency.
2. Expand the Right to Repair Framework:
   • Guarantee access to parts, manuals, and diagnostic tools.
   • Support community-based repair hubs.
3. Skilling and Recognition:
   • Integrate informal repairers into platforms like e-Shram.
   • Develop flexible, customized training that respects experiential learning.
4. Preserve Knowledge Digitally:
   • Use AI (LLMs, decision trees) to codify and preserve tacit repair knowledge.
5. Policy Convergence:
   • Coordinate efforts across ministries: MoLE, MeitY, and MoRD to create a unified framework valuing repair as labour and knowledge.

Significance for India’s Development Path

• Sustainability & SDGs: Supports SDG-12 and Mission LiFE by promoting reuse and reducing e-waste.
• Labour Dignity: Acknowledges the skill and role of informal repairers in India’s tech and material ecosystem.
• Digital Justice: Ensures AI growth includes human-centric knowledge systems.
• Economic Inclusion: Bridges the gap between digital ambition and grassroots innovation.
• Global Leadership: Positions India as a pioneer in integrating repair into sustainable economic models.

Conclusion

As India strides forward in digital infrastructure and AI, it must treat repair not only as a consumer right but also a social responsibility. Policies should empower and integrate the wisdom of informal repairers, safeguarding their role in India’s sustainable, inclusive, and technologically just future.

“We know more than we can tell.” — Michael Polanyi
India must remember and protect what it cannot afford to lose.