NEW DELHI: India has ordered audits of all electronic waste recyclers in the country to eradicate inflated processing claims and forged compliance paperwork, Reuters reported on Friday, citing government documents. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed state authorities to inspect more than 2,000 recyclers, including 309 that specifically handle electronic waste.

Source: Reuters, Nov 13, 2026

In a letter seen by Reuters, CPCB Chairman Amandeep Garg told state authorities to carry out the audits to identify inflated processing claims and forged compliance records. The direction follows a confidential order issued in July by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Independent expert A.L.N. Rao, who advises electronics companies, described it as the first major government measure focused on India's electronic waste industry.

Source: Reuters via Traders Union, Nov 13, 2026

The inspections will involve physical checks of recycling facilities, machinery verification and trial runs to confirm actual processing capacity. Officials will also compare a unit's electricity consumption with the production volumes it has reported, to spot inflated claims. Forged or manipulated documents will be treated as a major violation, and offenders can be blocked from issuing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificates.

Source: Unique Times, Nov 13, 2026

Since 2022, companies selling electronics and appliances in India have been required to recycle a share of the products they sell each year, and most meet that obligation by buying EPR certificates from authorised recyclers who do the actual work. India is the world's third-biggest generator of electronic waste, after China and the United States, and officials estimate that about 78 per cent of discarded electronics are processed by informal scrap dealers using methods that harm the environment.

Source: Reuters, Nov 13, 2026

The audit order coincides with a federal investigation that found appliance makers Haier and Godrej & Boyce had failed to detect fake compliance documents issued by a recycler that carried out no electronic waste processing at all. Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for nearly one-third of India's e-waste recyclers, has already begun inspections, with 33 facilities selected for immediate audits.

Source: Reuters via Traders Union; Unique Times, Nov 13, 2026