The Right to Repair and the Importance of Tacit Knowledge in India

• Kinnari Gatare, a researcher in Human Computer Interaction, advocates for India to align its AI infrastructure with the realities of repair and innovation.

• The Indian government has taken steps towards promoting sustainable electronics, including a Repairability Index for mobile phones and appliances and new e-waste policies.

• Gatare argues that repair should be treated as a cultural and intellectual resource, a form of knowledge that deserves preservation and support.

• The informal repair and maintenance economy, which sustains everyday life, is largely invisible in digital and policy frameworks.

• The loss of this knowledge threatens economic opportunity and a vast, undocumented reservoir of knowledge that has long supported India’s technological resilience.

• The Right to Repair movement has gained momentum globally, with the European Union requiring manufacturers to provide access to spare parts and repair documentation.

• India has the opportunity to lead by recognising repair as a form of knowledge work.