India officially mandates USB-C ports for mobile phones, manufacturers need to comply by March 2025

Mobile devices being sold in India will need to adopt the USB-C port as the standard charging port by 2025, a report by the Business Standard said. India started mulling over the idea after the European Union passed similar legislation earlier this year, that mandated all devices, laptops, smartphones, tablets and wearables being sold in the EU to use the Type-C port, by December 2024.

Earlier, the Central Consumer Protection Authority formed a sub-group comprising industry representatives, educational institutions and others to research the feasibility of a universal charging port, being implemented in India.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has set quality benchmarks for the charging port, which the department of consumer affairs wants device manufacturers to put in their products.

Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary to the Department of Consumer Affairs, said, “The government will come up with two common types of charging ports for mobiles and wearable electronic devices.”

The deadline for 2025 was set after consulting with industry stakeholders about standards and considering global supply chain constraints and the availability of products. The deadline will follow the European Union’s timeline for uniform charging ports’ standards.

India is currently, the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China, and had taken the position from the US back in 2019. It is estimated that over 95 per cent of the smartphones being used in India are Android-based, most of whom already come with the Type-C port. However, a vast majority of mobile phones being used in India constitute Feature phones that still use micro-USB or some form of a proprietary charger. 

Along with those feature phones, iPhones still use the proprietary Apple Lightning port, and Apple has recently seen significant sales growth in the region where it now manufactures the iPhone 14.

Apple previously pushed back against the EU’s attempts to make the company adopt the USB-C charging standard, but has since publicly confirmed it will comply with the new rules.

Moving towards a universal charging port will be in line with the Lifestyle for Environment or LIFE mission that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. LIFE calls for “mindful and deliberate utilisation” by people worldwide instead of “mindful and wasteful consumption.”

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