India leaves open implementation date for key machinery and electrical safety rules after recent QCO withdrawals

New Delhi: A day after withdrawing 14 quality control orders (QCOs) for 14 mostly imported petrochemicals and industrial raw materials in one stroke, the Centre has left open the implementation date of another major regulation — the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order, 2024.

The ministry of heavy industries has issued a fresh amendment to scrap the implementation date of 1 September 2026, signalling another pause in India’s recent push to tighten technical standards across sectors, as per a government notification issued on Friday.

The Second Amendment Order, 2025, issued under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016, modifies the clause to state that the regulation will come into force “from such date as may be notified by the Central government in the official gazette,” the ministry said.

The new date has not been specified, and the notification does not withdraw the order – it only leaves the enforcement date open.

This draws significance as India’s electrical equipment market has been growing significantly, driven by the increasing number of residential and commercial building projects. The electrical enclosures market size stood at $263.1 million in 2025 and is forecast to reach $341.85 million by 2030, advancing at a 5.38% CAGR over the period, as per Mordor Intelligence.

The 2024 regulation, meant to lay down mandatory safety standards for a broad range of machinery and electrical equipment, was originally scheduled to take effect one year after its publication in August 2024. It was pushed to September 2026 through a June 2025 amendment, it said.

With the latest change, the rollout has been left open-ended, adding to uncertainty among manufacturers and importers who were preparing for the shift to compulsory compliance.

“The Government of India’s prudent approach considers the ecosystem’s preparedness and maturity. To maintain the power sector’s high growth rate, a strong supply chain network and smooth logistics are critical, and the recent notifications should help in removing the bottlenecks,” Vikram Gandotra, president of the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association, said, referring to the recent developments regarding the QCOs and the omnibus technical regulation.

“As far as the QCO is concerned, while the government’s intention is good, it should apply across the value chain instead of just to raw materials. Such moves by the government are in the best interest of the manufacturing sector,” said Pankaj Chadha, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council.

Monitoring imports

However, trade experts cautioned that in sectors such as polymers, fibres, metals and intermediates where QCOs have been withdrawn, global suppliers may attempt to offload excess inventory at predatory prices.

“India must closely monitor import trends—daily if required—to ensure the absence of quality rules does not trigger a surge of dumped or sub-standard materials,” said Ajay Srivastava, co-founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative. “Continuous surveillance of customs data, DGTR (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) alerts, and landed price patterns will help the government act swiftly through anti-dumping, safeguard or tariff-rate measures if unfair trade practices emerge.”

This approach preserves the benefits of the QCO rollback—lower costs and smoother supply chains—while protecting domestic industry from injury caused by dumped imports, he said, adding that after the government’s welcome rollback of QCOs on plastics, textiles and metals, small manufacturers now view the removal of steel QCOs as the most critical and overdue step to restore competition, supply stability and the survival of small businesses.