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Yes, the mandatory standards being followed by bulb manufacturers were formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards way back in 1978. Even though the standards were subsequently revised in May 2004 and brought on par with international standards, manufacturers are most reluctant to accept them and are forcing the BIS to postpone its enforcement. In fact, barring one
important safety test called the "safety at the end of life",
the standards had to be brought into effect from this month (July 2006),
but following representations from small-scale industries, the BIS This is not the first time that manufacturers’ interests have taken precedence over consumer interest. Nor will this be the last, unless consumers become more alert and pressurise the government to implement the new quality standards. In fact I would urge consumers to write to the Bureau of Indian Standards and as a consumer, I would put extra emphasis on the "safety at the end of life test" because of its safety implications. Now you must have noticed that sometimes when you switch on the light, the bulb fuses, but not quietly, but with a loud bang. And worse, it bursts out of the socket and comes hurling down like a rocket. While sometimes the entire lamp comes crashing down, spewing glass pieces all around, sometimes only the glass bulb comes apart and the cap remains inside the socket. (And taking that portion out of the socket is quite a job and can well cut your fingers because of the broken glass piece remaining on the cap). If you are standing just below the bulb when it bursts, you can get hurt. I shudder when I think of the possibility of someone standing right underneath and looking up at the bulb when it bursts. In fact I have written about this safety issue earlier too in my columns and have even suggested that till this problem is overcome, bulb manufacturers should put a warning asking consumers not to stand anywhere near the bulb when they switch it on. When the BIS reviewed, revised and upgraded its standards in 2004 in line with international standards of quality and safety, it incorporated, among others, better process control measures at several intermediate stages to achieve better compliance with quality parameters. It also took into consideration the threat posed by the bursting of the bulb, particularly at the end of its life and introduced the "safety at the end of life" test. However, since this test required certain laboratory facilities that were unavailable at that time, BIS fixed January 2007 as the deadline for implementing the safety test. As for the rest of the new standard, it set July 2006 as the date of implementation And now, that has got postponed. It’s been a long road to standardisation of bulbs in the country. Bulbs are supposed to last 960-1000 burning hours, but we have had bulbs that would fuse within just two to five hours of burning. Following consumer protests, the government issued the General Services Electric Lamps (Quality Control) order, 1989, under the Essential commodities Act, thereby bringing them under mandatory quality certification. This meant that manufacturers could not sell bulbs without the relevant ISI certificate. However, due to slack implementation of the order, bulbs of substandard quality continued to be sold in the market. Eventually, consumer pressure forced the BIS to revise its scheme of testing and inspection of samples and tighten its control over manufacturers. This finally brought about substantial improvement in quality, setting the stage for the next phase of improvements, particularly in respect of energy efficiency and safety. Meanwhile, the electric bulbs were taken out of the purview of the Essential Commodities Act and were brought under mandatory certification under the BIS Act through the Electrical Wires, Cables, Appliances, Protection Devices and Accessories (Quality control) Order 2003. The standards for these lamps, published first in 1953, were updated in 1957, and again in 1963 and in 1978. Even though most standards
are revised at regular intervals, this had not undergone the process for
a long time. Now that it has happened, it has to be implemented. And for
that to happen, there should be consumer demand.
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YOU
may find this hard to believe, but the household electric bulbs
(tungsten-filament incandescent lamps) that we buy today are made to
standards that are 28 years old. And worse, they are not 100 per cent
safe. Yet, manufacturers are unwilling to adopt the new standards.