New Delhi: The government has brought smartphone screen protectors under mandatory quality guidelines issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards to curb widespread sales of sub-standard products, mostly imported into the country.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology through a gazette notification dated September 21 amended the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021 to now include screen protectors for smartphones.

Manufacturers have over six months to comply with the new standards that come into effect on April 1, 2027.

The government had earlier also tightened quality norms for tempered glass used to protect smartphone screens.

The latest move is expected to benefit local manufacturers such as Optiemus Infracom, which has set up a facility in Noida to make screen protectors in partnership with US-based Corning.

Ashok Gupta, executive chairman of Optiemus Infracom, said the company is working to create an additional capacity of 20 million screen protectors at its facility.

According to industry experts, the government acted in public interest to curb the flood of low-quality screen protectors imported to India, primarily from China, and to give a boost to local manufacturing.

India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), which counts major handset brands in India as its members, said mandatory BIS certification will protect consumers from sub-standard products while creating a level playing field for domestic manufacturers and global companies.

"With a market of over 500 million units a year, this move will catalyse a ₹12,000-16,000-crore quality-driven industry, generate around 60,000 direct and indirect jobs and contribute an estimated ₹2,000 crore in GST revenues. It will also strengthen India's potential as a global manufacturing and export hub for screen protectors," ICEA chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said in a statement.