India's Repairability Index for Phones, Explained: What the Score Will Actually Tell You

Last updated: September 2026

Almost every specification on a phone box tells you what the device can do on day one. Almost none tell you what happens on the day it breaks — whether the battery can be replaced without dismantling half the phone, whether a screen part will still exist in three years, whether an independent shop can get a manual. India's Repairability Index is an attempt to put that on the box too.

It is a policy story rather than a product launch, and it is easy to skim past. But it changes what "good value" means. A cheaper phone that costs ₹8,000 to fix after eighteen months is not cheaper. Here is what the framework actually contains, sourced to the government's own announcements, and an honest account of where it is limited.

Where the framework came from

The Department of Consumer Affairs hosted a national workshop on 2 September 2024 to discuss a Repairability Index for mobile phones and electronic products. It then constituted an expert committee, chaired by Additional Secretary Bharat Khera, to build a workable framework.

That committee's report was announced through a Press Information Bureau release dated 3 May 2025. The stated reasoning was twofold: consumers were increasingly stuck with devices that were cheaper to replace than to repair, and India generates roughly 3.2 million tonnes of e-waste a year, third only to China and the United States. Consumer complaints in the relevant category rose from 19,057 in 2022-23 to 22,864 in 2024-25.

The six parameters

A phone is assessed on six things, which the committee report lists as:

• Disassembly Depth — how far into the device you must go to reach a part that commonly fails.
• Repair Information — whether service manuals and technical documentation are available.
• Spare Parts Availability — whether parts can actually be obtained, and for how long.
• Software Updates — how long the device keeps receiving them, since a phone that is unsupported is effectively unrepairable.
• Tools — whether standard tools suffice or proprietary ones are required.
• Fasteners — screws versus glue, in plain terms.

Those six are weighted across eleven priority parts identified as the most failure-prone — including the battery, display, cameras, charging port and, on foldables, the hinge assembly. The weighted result becomes a single number from 1 to 5. A 1 means high risk of damage and extensive disassembly to reach anything; a 5 means direct access to components like the battery without unnecessary dismantling.

How you will see it

The framework asks for the score to be displayed at the point of sale, on e-commerce platforms and as a QR code on packaging — so it should be visible before you buy, not discovered afterwards. Manufacturers self-declare against standardised criteria, which the committee framed as avoiding extra compliance burden. Phase one covers smartphones and tablets, with laptops and other electronics considered later.

Supporting all of this is the Department's existing Right to Repair Portal, which had onboarded 65-plus companies across four sectors at the time of the report, including a substantial group from mobile and electronics.

The honest limitations

Three, and they are worth stating plainly.

Self-declaration is the weak point. The manufacturer scores its own phone. Without independent audit or a penalty for optimistic scoring, there is an obvious incentive to interpret ambiguous criteria generously. The European experience with similar indices suggests scores cluster upward once brands work out how the rubric is graded.

A score is not a price. The index measures how difficult a repair is, not what it costs. A phone can be straightforward to open and still have a display assembly priced at a third of the phone's value. Ease and affordability are different problems, and this framework addresses only the first.

Status matters. What was announced in May 2025 was a framework report with a recommendation that the ministry issue guidelines. As of September 2026 we could not confirm a notified, enforced mandatory-labelling start date. Treat the index as an emerging standard you will begin to see rather than a legal guarantee already in force, and verify the current position with the Department of Consumer Affairs before relying on it.

Should you buy by the repairability score?

Use it as a tiebreaker, not a verdict. Between two phones you already like at a similar price, a materially better score is a real reason to pick one — it usually correlates with screws instead of glue and a battery you can replace for a few thousand rupees rather than a service-centre exchange.

Do not let it override the things that determine whether you keep a phone at all. A repairable phone with two years of software support is a worse long-term buy than a slightly less repairable one with five, because the second one is still safe to use when the first has stopped receiving patches. Note that software support is itself one of the six parameters, so a good score should partly capture this — but check the brand's stated update commitment directly rather than inferring it.

And be realistic about self-declared numbers in the first year or two of any such scheme. A 4 from a brand with a dense authorised service network in your city is worth more than a 5 from one with no presence outside metros.

The cheapest repair is the one you avoid

Whatever score your next phone carries, the two parts most likely to send you to a service centre are the screen and the back panel, and both are the easiest to protect. A ₹300 screen protector standing between a tile floor and a display assembly is the highest-leverage spend in the entire accessory category. Royal Star's tempered glass range covers most models sold in India, and a mobile camera guard does the same job for the lens cluster, which is among the eleven priority parts the index tracks.

Browse the full tempered glass range to find your exact model.

FAQ

What is India's Repairability Index?

A 1-5 score for how easily a device can be repaired, developed under the Department of Consumer Affairs. Phones and tablets are covered in the first phase, scored across six parameters weighted over eleven commonly failing parts.

Who decides a phone's repairability score?

The manufacturer, by self-declaration against standardised criteria. That is deliberate — the committee wanted to avoid adding a testing burden — but it is also the main reason to treat early scores as indicative rather than authoritative.

Is the Repairability Index mandatory in India right now?

The framework report recommends mandatory display at point of sale and on packaging. We could not confirm a notified enforcement date as of September 2026, so check the Department of Consumer Affairs for the current status rather than assuming every phone on sale carries a score.

Does a high repairability score mean cheap repairs?

No. The index measures how difficult a repair is, not what a spare part costs. A phone can score well and still have an expensive display assembly.

Final Thoughts

The Repairability Index will not transform anything on its own, and self-declared scores deserve scepticism in the early years. But putting a repair number next to the camera megapixels on a product page changes what buyers compare, and that pressure is how standards like this eventually do their work. Watch for the score on listings, use it as a tiebreaker, and keep protecting the two parts — screen and back — that account for most repairs regardless of what any index says.

For related reading, see our explainers on GST and import duty on phones in India and on how many years of Android updates each brand gives you. For practical protection, our monsoon protection guide covers what actually works.

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