The Indian governments promotion of “Made in India” LED bulbs, and the introduction of mandatory registration of electronic products in August 2015 will spur LED bulb sales, said Philips Lighting Solutions South Asia, CEO, Harsh Chitale.
India’s lighting market is flooded by hundreds of firms, but there are only about a dozen specialized lighting manufacturers, said Chitale. Remaining players on the market are mostly traders that are outsourcing LED bulb manufacturing or importing LED bulbs. Implementation of The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) would eliminate sub-standard and non-certified LED bulbs from the market and make way for ones designed and produced in India.
He projected LED bulb prices will also decline following increased sales volume. Voltage fluctuations in India range from 100v to 300v, but imported bulbs are designed to work at voltages between 200v to 270v. Hence, foreign LED bulbs fail to function when the surge is high.
At the moment, conventional lighting products such as CFL, incandescent lamps and bulbs still have approximately 75% market share. It will take about another year before LEDs are capable of crossing the half-way mark, said Chitale. For Philips lighting business, the Indian government sector has shown the fastest growth, while huge orders are coming from the domestic sector.
