How a Little-Known Rule Hurt Tablet Sales in India; but Is a Turnaround Near?

Not many know about the rule introduced by the Indian government that requires tablets, laptops, and other electronics like video game consoles being sold in the country to get certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This regulation was first proposed by the government last summer, and while deadlines for the absolute enforcement of this rule have been steadily pushed forward, many companies in the tech-hardware industry today see this rule as one of the reasons for a big slowdown in tablet sales in 2013-14. The Department of Electronics and IT decided, in a move to ensure that companies are offering a minimum quality of products, that the BIS test random samples of various electronic devices to ensure that substandard or defective products are not coming to the market. As per the regulation, all laptops, desktops, video games, printers, tablets, televisions (LCD and LED), optical disc players, amplifiers, musical systems, wireless keyboards, microwave ovens, printers, scanners, video monitors, telephone answering machines, electronic clocks, and set-top boxes will have to obtain clearance from the BIS. While there are a lot of device categories that are affected, tablets were one of the hardest hit, since it is a new, emerging category, and one where a lot of the growth had been in the low-end, Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 bracket. Considering that the lower end of the market had seen a lot of very poorly made devices being pushed out at high speed, this was, in many ways, a much-needed decision. It is, in some ways, similar to what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US does - all electronics manufactured or sold in the US have to carry a certification mark to show that electromagnetic interference from the device falls under approved limits. Good for business? Since the BIS certification helps keep sub-standard and defective products off the market, it's something that is beneficial to customers, and in theory, is good for companies as well. And in fact, most companies supported the BIS certification when it was first announced last year. "No one can be against the order," says Amar Babu, Managing Director of Lenovo India, "It has exactly the right intent, and ensured a minimum quality."