India proposes labelling assistive use, not the device

Manmeet Nanda, Additional Secretary at India's Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, proposed recognising a product's assistive use instead of classifying it as an assistive device. Devices on the government's assistive list get 5% GST versus 18% for ordinary electronics and qualify for ADIP purchase support, but smartwatches and smart glasses are excluded. A TQH report documented five cases of mainstream tech used as assistive tech.

• Assistive devices on India's list attract 5% GST versus 18% for ordinary electronics
• Smartwatches with haptic alerts for deaf users are excluded and taxed as consumer electronics
• The Incidental Accessibility report covers five cases of mainstream tech used as assistive tech
• ICT accessibility rules under S.O. 3962(E) remain a draft, with notification targeted for January 2027