Light makers concerned over "spurious" LED products in market

As the government promotes use of LEDs to save energy, lighting manufacturers' body ELCOMA has raised concern over "spurious" LED products, which do not comply with the safety standards of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Market research firm Nielsen found that 76 per cent brands making LED bulbs and 71 per cent of those making LED downlighters are not following the safety standards.
The study, based on survey of 200 retail outlets in four cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad- in July this year found majority of the LED (light-emitting diode) brands below the norms of BIS and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

"These spurious products pose a serious safety hazard for consumers besides causing significant loss in tax revenues for the government as they are illegally manufactured and sold," said Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers Association (ELCOMA).
According to the association, the total LED market in India is valued around Rs 10,000 crore and LED bulbs and downlighters constitute nearly half of the overall LED market.
"It threatens fair competition in the LED lighting market, especially for those companies that are compliant to all mandatory consumer safety standards," said ELCOMA President Rakesh Zutshi.

He also added that it was unlikely that the manufacturers of these spurious LED bulbs and downlighters pay any GST to the government, causing loss to the exchequer.

Given the governments 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.
"With 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," Philips Lighting India Vice Chairman and MD Sumit Joshi said.