UPSC Relevance
Prelims Pointers:
- Repairability Index (2025)
- E-Waste (Management) Rules 2022
- iFixit Report (2023)
- Mission LiFE
- National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence (NSAI)
GS Paper 2: Government Policies, Rights Issues
GS Paper 3: Environment (e-Waste), Science & Tech (AI Policy, Digital Public Infrastructure), Inclusive Development
Why in News?
In May 2025, the Government of India accepted a report recommending a Repairability Index for mobile phones and appliances, aiming to rank products based on their ease of repair, spare part availability, and software support. This aligns with broader policy efforts such as e-waste rules incentivising formal recycling. However, as the movement for the Right to Repair gains momentum, experts argue that the tacit knowledge of informal repairers — passed through experience rather than manuals — must also be preserved and supported as a national knowledge resource.
Background
- The Right to Repair movement originated in the U.S. and Europe to counteract planned obsolescence and promote product longevity.
- In India, the Department of Consumer Affairs launched a Right to Repair Framework in 2022 and a national portal in 2023.
- Simultaneously, India has become the third-largest e-waste producer, generating over 1.6 million tonnes (2021–22).
- Informal repairers, who fix devices without access to formal training or proprietary manuals, play a vital role in extending product life but remain excluded from policies and digital infrastructure.
Tacit Knowledge: A Forgotten Resource
“He never explained with words… he just showed me once.”
— A repair worker in Bhopal
What is Tacit Knowledge?
Tacit knowledge refers to hands-on skills and practical know-how that people gain through observation, imitation, and years of practice — not through formal education or written manuals.
- Example: A mechanic learning by watching seniors, not by reading a guidebook.
Where is This Knowledge Found?
In India, such informal repair knowledge thrives in local repair hubs like:
- Karol Bagh in Delhi
- Ritchie Street in Chennai
Here, workers rely on:
- Sensory diagnosis (e.g., sound, smell, vibration)
- Improvised tools
- Experience passed down informally
Why is Tacit Knowledge Valuable?
- Non-codified: It isn’t written down but lives in practice.
- Flexible: It adapts to changing devices and local contexts.
- Sustainable: It reduces electronic waste by promoting repair instead of replacement.
This is the kind of wisdom Artificial Intelligence or automated systems cannot easily replicate.
What is the Problem?
As technology evolves:
- Gadgets are becoming smaller, sealed, and harder to repair.
- Manufacturers often restrict access to repair information.
- This marginalises informal repair workers, making their skills obsolete.
Result:
A community with decades of experience is losing its livelihood, and society is losing a valuable, sustainable repair ecosystem.
Takeaway
Tacit knowledge is an invisible but essential pillar of sustainability and circular economy.
Ignoring it in the digital age may erase a whole generation of low-cost, eco-friendly innovation.
Right to Repair vs. the Repairability Gap
Despite growing global attention to the Right to Repair, India faces a significant repairability gap across several dimensions:
| Dimension | Current Status |
| Design for Repair | Most electronic devices are not made to be opened or fixed easily. For instance, only 23% of smartphones in Asia are considered repairable (iFixit, 2023). |
| Skilling | Government schemes like PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) offer formal certifications but fail to recognise tacit, hands-on diagnostic skills learned informally. |
| Digital Recognition | Informal repair workers are missing from platforms like e-Shram or national skill databases. Their contributions remain invisible in official systems. |
| Policy Focus | E-Waste Management Rules prioritise recycling over reuse or repair, overlooking sustainable repair ecosystems. |
Key Observation
While policies like the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 promote experiential learning and skill development, they fail to recognise or support informal technical labour — such as local electronics and appliance repairers.
The disconnect between policy intent and on-ground realities creates a growing divide between digital rights and repair access, especially for the economically vulnerable.
Global Context & India’s Opportunity
What’s Happening Globally?
- European Union (EU) Regulations – 2024
The EU now requires manufacturers to:- Provide spare parts
- Share repair manuals and instructions with users and independent repairers
- UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG-12)
Focuses on responsible consumption and production, where repair and reuse are key tools for sustainability.
Why Is This an Opportunity for India?
India has a vast informal repair ecosystem. By supporting it strategically, India can:
- Recognise Repair as a Knowledge Economy
○ Repair work involves creativity, problem-solving, and technical expertise
○ It deserves institutional support like other skilled trades - Encourage “Unmaking” Practices
○ Support the act of disassembling and repurposing devices
○ This promotes innovation and circular economy at the grassroots - Digitise Without Displacing
○ Document and archive local repair wisdom through videos, apps, or open platforms
○ Ensure that the local flavour and context of this knowledge is preserved, not erased
The Takeaway
As the world moves toward repair-friendly policies, India has a chance to:
● Lead by example
● Empower informal workers
● Build a sustainable, inclusive tech ecosystem
Embracing repair is not just about fixing gadgets — it’s about repairing economies, environments, and equity.
Unmaking as Innovation: A Paradigm Shift
What Is “Unmaking”?
Traditionally, we view breakdowns as failures. But the concept of unmaking sees them as opportunities for innovation — a chance to understand, reuse, and reconfigure technology.
● Unmaking means taking apart, studying, and reusing discarded tech parts to create something useful.
🔹 Real-World Impact
“People throw things out. But we see what can be made new.” — Mobile repairer, Ritchie Street, Chennai
● A discarded smartphone may be considered junk in urban areas, but:
○ Its parts can restore connectivity for a family in rural India.
○ It can be repurposed into a low-cost educational device or communication tool.
Informal Repairers as Sustainability Innovators
These workers:
● Turn e-waste into usable technology
● Reduce the burden on landfills
● Offer affordable solutions to economically weaker communities
● Operate as grassroots engineers, though often unrecognised in policy or formal tech ecosystems
They are not just fixing gadgets — they are rebuilding access, affordability, and ecological balance.
The Takeaway
“Unmaking” reframes repair as innovation, not patchwork.
It empowers local repairers and repositions India’s informal sector as a key player in global sustainability.
AI and Repair Justice: Bridging the Gap
India’s growing AI ecosystem — through initiatives like NSAI, Bhashini, and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) — must actively include informal repair ecosystems to ensure tech equity and sustainability.
Key Policy Interventions Needed
- Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY)
○ Introduce repairability standards in public procurement policies
○ Align AI and tech regulations with principles of sustainability and access - Ministry of Consumer Affairs
○ Broaden the Right to Repair framework
○ Involve repair communities in consultations and grievance redressal mechanisms - Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
○ Develop training modules focused on:
■ Fault diagnosis
■ Component reuse
■ Local improvisation techniques - e-Shram Portal
○ Ensure registration of informal repairers
○ Provide them access to social security, skilling programs, and visibility
Role of Artificial Intelligence
● Large Language Models (LLMs) and decision tree algorithms can help:
○ Map common repair issues
○ Provide open-source repair guides in local languages
○ Retain contextual knowledge unique to regions or devices
When trained ethically, AI can amplify grassroots innovation rather than displace it.
The Takeaway
Bridging the gap between digital governance and repair justice is essential for inclusive development.
By embedding repair into India’s AI and skilling landscape, we can turn a marginalised practice into a national asset.
Way Forward: Towards a Repair-Just Future
India has the opportunity to become a global model for sustainable technology and inclusive innovation. For that, a multi-pronged strategy is needed:
1. Policy Recognition
- Recognise informal repairers as essential contributors to India’s green economy
- Include repairability criteria in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for electronics and appliances
This ensures repair is seen not as informal labour, but as an environmental necessity.
2. Repair-Centric Product Design
- Mandate design standards that allow devices to be disassembled and repaired easily
- Provide incentives or tax rebates to manufacturers whose products have longer life cycles and higher repair scores
3. Documentation of Tacit Knowledge
- Support community-led projects to document local repair techniques through photos, videos, and open-source manuals
- Use AI and LLMs to encode this knowledge — but avoid centralising or flattening regional diversity
Let AI be a translator and amplifier, not a gatekeeper.
4. Inclusive and Practical Skilling
- Revamp PMKVY and similar programs to include mentor-apprentice models and hands-on diagnosis
- Establish hybrid training centres that combine digital literacy with manual skill-building
5. Cultural Recognition and Preservation
- Classify repair practices as part of India’s intangible cultural heritage, alongside traditional crafts and oral knowledge
- Celebrate local repair ecosystems in school curricula, museums, and digital storytelling platforms
Conclusion
The Right to Repair must go beyond access to tools and manuals. It must include the Right to Remember — to preserve and celebrate the quiet labour and embodied wisdom that keeps India’s technology alive against odds. In valuing this tacit, localised, and human intelligence, India can lead the world in building a repair-just, circular, and inclusive technological future.
“We know more than we can tell.” — Michael Polanyi
Prelims Mock Style(practice question)
Q. The “Right to Repair” movement recently seen in news is primarily associated with:
A. Strengthening consumer rights and encouraging circular economy
B. Legal aid for undertrial prisoners
C. Protection of digital payments infrastructure
D. Regulation of social media influencers
Answer: A. Strengthening consumer rights and encouraging circular economy
Q“The Right to Repair is a critical extension of consumer rights and digital inclusion.”Discuss its relevance in India’s policy and legal landscape. (10 marks, 150 words)
SOURCE- THE HINDU
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