Quality of 76% LED bulb 'brands' in market suspect

NEW DELHI: Beware when you pick up that cheap LED (light emitting diode) lamp next time you are out shopping for an efficient bulb. Though cheaper at the time, it may prove to be costly in the longer run by consuming more energy and also put the electrical wiring system of your home at risk.
A Nielsen survey of 200 retail outlets in New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad released on Monday found 76% of LED bulbs brands and 71% of LED downlighter (roof-mounted) brands do not comply with consumer safety standards for lights specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards and the electronics and I-T ministry.
According to the survey, comissioned by the Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers’ Association, 73% of the LED bulb and downlighter brands surveyed in Delhi did not conform to BIS standards. This makes Delhi the city with the highest degree of violation of BIS norms in the country.
The survey does not pertain to the LED bulbs being procured and distributed through discoms or specified outlets under the government's Ujala scheme, which aims at replacing all the 770 million conventional or CFL (compact fluoroscent bulbs) lamps in the country with LED bulbs.
"Our specifications exceed BIS standards. We have a sysytemof pre-delivery inspection and do regular smpling from our distribution points. Besides, the manufacturers supplying us also have to submit a test certificate from NAVL-accredited labs," said Saurabh kumar, MD of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, the state-run entity that procures and distributes LED lamps and effcient fans etc under the Ujala scheme.
The Nielsen survey showed that 48% of LED bulb brands did not mention the manufacturer’s address and 31% brands did not have the manufacturer’s name. Similarly, the study on LED Downlighters showed that of the total sample size, 45% brands did not have a manufacturer’s name and 51% brands had no mention of the manufacturer’s address.
Not metioning the name or address of the manufacturer violates the Indian legal metrology regulations. This can mean only one thing: the bulbs are being manufactured illegally, possibly with cheap components imported from China and the manufacturers are also evading pertinent taxes.
ELCOMA pegs the Indian LED lighting market at Rs 10,000, accounting for more than 45% of the overall Rs 22,000 crore lighting industry in India, including all lamp categories.
With such a large pie at stake, the manufacturers are seeking stricter government controls to check sale of shoddy LED bulbs. “The large number of non-compliant manufacturers of LED Bulbs and downlighters threaten fair competition in the LED lighting market, especially for those companies that are compliant to all mandatory consumer safety standards. It is very unlikely that the manufacturers of these spurious LED Bulbs and downlighters pay any GST to the government, thereby causing a huge loss to the exchequer,” said Rakesh Zutshi, ELCOMA president and Halonix Technologies MD.
Raju Bista, MD of Surya Roshni, saw such sub-standard products negatively impacting the government's Ujala scheme too. "These products will adversely affect the government's plans to promote efficiency. The growing number of non-compliant and illegal products is worrisome as the non-compliant manufacturers undertake various cost-cutting mechanisms, making them less energy efficient. As these manufacturers already flout industry regulations and BIS standards with no action being taken against them, it is extremely likely that they will be non-compliant with energy efficiency parameters as well.”
Sumit Joshi, vice-chairman of Philips Lighting saw the need for a government crackdown. "Given the government’s push towards adoption of LEDs and their general consumer popularity, LED lighting will constitute a majority share of the total lighting market in the next few years. Given this scenario, it is important for the government to act against these spurious and non-branded products for safeguarding consumer safety and protecting their revenues against these companies,” he said.
Sunil Sikka of Havells India saw the market share of spurious and non-compliant LED products is steadily increasing.