Half of LED bulbs illegally sold in India; unsafe for consumers: Study

Half of LED bulb and downlighter brands in eight major cities across the country do not conform to consumer safety norms, according to a Nielsen study.

These spurious products are a safety hazard for consumers, besides causing significant loss in tax revenues for the government as they are illegally manufactured and sold, it added.

"In a Nielsen study conducted across 8 major Indian cities - New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Durgapur, Bareilly, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad; 47 per cent of LED Bulb brands and 52 per cent of LED downlighter brands across 400 electrical retail outlets were found to be non-compliant with consumer safety standards, as prescribed and mandated for lighting products by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology," Nielsen said in a statement.

In the LED bulbs category, Hyderabad had the highest non-compliance levels in BIS mark at 57 per cent and Ahmedabad at 60 per cent 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 per cent and Mumbai topped the chart in non-compliance in legal metrology at 78 per cent.

According to the study, more than half of LED bulb brands surveyed in the national capital (52 per cent) did not conform to BIS standards (absence of the BIS mark) and same is the case when it comes to LED downlighters (58 per cent).

Also, 36 per cent of the LED bulb brands and 58 per cent of LED downlighter brands surveyed did not follow legal metrology guidelines in the national capital.

According to ELCOMA (Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers' Association), the total LED market in India is worth Rs 11,400 crore, with LED bulbs and downlighters constituting 72 per cent of the overall LED market.

Raju Bista, President, ELCOMA and Managing Director of Surya Roshni Ltd, said, "These non-compliant manufacturers don't follow mandated safety procedures and hence the products manufactured by them 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."

The Nielsen study was conducted in 2018.