MAIT has recently congratulated the Union Ministry of State for Environment & Forests, for making the draft ‘e-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2010’ public. Putting the draft rules in the public domain is a part of the Government process of rule making. These shall remain in the pubic domain for receiving comments from the public and stakeholders for a period of two months.

Welcoming the rules, MAIT Executive Director, Vinnie Mehta said, "The recently announced new set of rules for environmentally sound management of e-waste is the need of the hour. E-waste is one of the world’s fastest growing waste streams and with increased consumption of IT and electronics products, India will soon be faced with the challenges of managing the same."

"Currently, an estimated three lakh eighty thousand metric tonnes of e-waste is generated annually in India. To address the issue of e-waste in India, MAIT along with GTZ, Greenpeace and Toxicslink had recommended to the Government a set of draft rules in August 2009."

Mehta further explains that detailed liabilities and obligations of all stakeholders have been clearly spelt out in the proposed rules. The draft rules lay emphasis on responsibility of the producers – manufacturers and vendors, including financial responsibility, extending beyond the sales of equipment and setting up of take-back systems for effective management and handling of e-waste.

Further, all stakeholders including the dealers, refurbishers, dismantlers, collectors, recyclers and the government agencies for implementation and monitoring have to execute their responsibilities in tandem. The draft rules also advocate RoHS – the need to Restrict Hazardous Substances in the electronics equipment. An attempt has been made to simplify the various procedures for better compliance.

Reassuring the IT Hardware Industry’s commitment towards managing and minimising e-waste, Mehta said, "Most IT brands have already taken proactive measures for controlling and managing e-waste resulting from their products.  Most IT products being offered in the market today are RoHS (Restrictions on Hazardous Substances) compliant."

"Further, leading brands today have set up their own take-back and collections systems. With the rules now being formally announced, we expect greater compliance from all stakeholders."