The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reportedly plans to frame new radiation norms for the telecom sector. DoT has accepted an inter-ministerial committee?s proposal to lower the permitted radiation levels in mobile phones by 50 per cent. Kapil Sibal, Minister of Telecommunications and IT is expected to announce the guidelines soon.

According to the new guidelines, handsets should not have a specific absorption rate (SAR) of more than 1.6 watt/kg taken over a volume containing as mass of 1 gram of human issue. This is the same level allowed in the US. Until now, India followed the European standards, wherein handset makers are permitted to have SAR levels of 2 watt/kg on a 10 gram human issue.

It will also become mandatory for hands-free devices to be sold with handsets, as DoT feels that these devices will significantly reduce the risk of exposure from electromagnetic waves.

The new norms have elicited a mixed reaction from the industry. According to the Indian Cellular Association, for instance, currently, about 645 low-end handset models do not comply with the new emission standards and will have to be redesigned.

Moreover, earlier this year, the Indian Cellular Association had said that the industry will take approximately nine months to redesign these handsets, and their prices would increase by 5 per cent to 30 per cent.