India sets quality standards for smartphone screen protectors from April 2027

The new rules cover thickness, dimensions, light transmission, defects and strength, with compliant products required to carry the BIS ‘Standard’ mark.

Smartphone screen protectors that do not meet certain specific requirements regarding thickness, dimensions, light transmission, defects and strength and that don’t carry the ‘Standard’ mark, will not be manufactured, stored for sale, imported, sold or distributed in India after April 1, 2027, the government has said in a notification Monday.

The ministry added “screen protectors for smartphones” as the 66th item to this list, originally introduced by BIS in July 2025. (Representative Image)

This comes after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in a notification issued on September 21, amended the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021 — which entails a list of IT and electronic products that must conform to specific Indian Standards (IS), issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), mentioned against the products. This list has been maintained and updated since 2012.

The ministry on Monday added “screen protectors for smartphones” as the 66th item to this list, against IS 19348:2025, originally introduced by BIS in July 2025. Even though the scope for IS 19348:2025 covers smartphones, tablets, laptops, PC screens, E-readers, etc, the MeitY notification specifically only refers to “smartphones”.

Starting April 1, smartphone users will increasingly see products on the market with a required ‘Standard’ mark in India. To be sure, MeitY’s 2021 order does not apply to goods meant for export, which then conform to the specification required by the foreign buyer. “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,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, India Cellular and Electronics Association.

Currently, over 90% of demand for screen protectors is met through low-cost imports, according to industry stakeholders, resulting in inconsistent quality and a largely unorganised market.