Half of LED bulbs, downlighters sold in market unsafe: Nielsen study

NEW DELHI: About half of all LED bulb and downlighter brands currently sold in the market including the metros are unsafe and manufactured illegally, a study conducted by market research firm Nielsen across 400 retail outlets spanning eight cities has found.


The study says these bulbs and downlighters flout the consumer safety standards prescribed by the

Bureau of Indian Standards

and the ministry of electrinics and information technology. The government also loses tax revenue because these are manufactured illegally.

The study found 47% of LED bulb brands and 52% of LED downlighter brands do not meet the prescribed safety standards and pose a safety hazard for consumers. Market sources told TOI the bulbs and downlighters are manufactured at ramshackle facilites with cheap imported kits, mostly from China.

These unsafe bulbs and downlighters are also less energy efficient, defeating the the basic purpose of adopting LED lamps. “These non-compliant manufacturers don’t follow mandated safety procedures. The products are not only unsafe but also less energy efficient. This will negatively impact the government’s focus on promoting energy efficient products and harm the image of the LED industry,” according to Raju Bista, president of ELCOMA (Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers Association) and MD of lighting equipment manufacturer

Surya Roshni Ltd

.

Such high percentage of illegally manufactured bulbs and downlighters, which make up 72% of the overall LED market, also means a substantial loss to the echequer. ELCOMA reckons the Indian LED market size to be worth Rs 11,400 crore.

LED bulbs

and downlighters are used in homes and workplaces.

“The LED industry has grown significantly over the past 5-6 years and this has led to the entry of several products that are non-compliant to BIS safety standards. The government must take stringent measures to ensure better compliance to safety standards to protect consumer interest,” according to Sumit Padmakar Joshi, ELCOMA vice-president and CEO of Signify Innovations India Ltd (formerly known as Philips Lighting India).

The

Nielsen study

was conducted across New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Durgapur, Bareilly, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. The study found 52% of the LED bulb and 58% downlighter brands surveyed in Delhi did not conform to the standards and did not have the BIS quality mark. Some 36% of the LED bulb and 58% of downlighter brands did not follow legal

metrology

guidelines.

In LED bulb category, Hyderabad had the highest non-compliance levels in BIS mark at 57% and Ahmedabad at 60% had the highest non-compliance levels in legal metrology. In the LED downlighter category, Bareilly had the highest non-compliance in BIS mark at 78% and Mumbai topped the charts in non-compliance in legal metrology at 78%.

According to ELCOMA advisor Sunil Sikka, the growth of spurious and non-branded LED products threaten organised and compliant market players and defeats investment objectives. Ultimately, it harms government initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ aimed at promoting investment and domestic manufacturing.