(a) whether the Telecom Commission has adopted International Commission on Non-Ionization Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines for mobile phones;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the number of cases of violation of ICNIRP guidelines which have come to the notice of the Government during each of the last three years and the current year; and
(d) the details of the action taken by the Government so far against the guilty companies?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) & (b) Telecom Commission, in their meeting held on 27 May 2008, decided to adopt International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) Guidelines for mobile phones. ICNIRP guidelines prescribe that Mobile handsets should comply with basic restrictions in terms of SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) value limited to 2 Watt/Kg localized for head and trunk in the frequency range of 10 MHz to 10 GHz.
Subsequently, based on the recommendations of an Inter-Ministerial Committee, the Government adopted a more stringent limit of 1.6 Watt/Kg averaged over a mass of 1 gram of human tissue. Vide Office Memorandum dated 25.01.2012 and clarification dated 17.08.2012, the Government has issued instructions [via Indian Cellular Association (ICA) and Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA)] to all the mobile manufacturers, both indigenous and imported, to limit the SAR level for Mobile handset to 1.6 Watt/Kg, averaged over a mass of 1 gram of human tissue.
(c) &(d) So far, no case of violation has come to the notice of the Government.