Date:14/08/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/08/14/stories/2004081401960500.htm

Back e-waste disposal a big challenge: Maran

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Aug. 13

WITH over 1,050 tonnes of electronic scrap being generated in India by manufacturers and assemblers of electronic items in a single year, the Minister for IT and Communications, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, has called for preventive steps to contain the "growing menace" of electronics waste.

"During the last 10 to 15 years, technological advances in the electronic devices and materials technology have boosted the performance of information technology, the world over, particularly in India... the growing dependence on IT and electronic products has, however, given rise to a new environmental challenge, that is, the growing menace of electronics waste (e-waste)," Mr Maran said.

He also released a technical guide titled `The Environmental Management for IT industry in India' brought out by the IT Department.

Over 1,000 tonnes of electronic scrap are generated in India by the manufacturers and assemblers of electronic items in a single year, he said.