Why we shouldn’t copy-paste EU’s ‘one nation, one charger’ policy

A common mistake in public policy is the inability to confront trade-offs. Every government policy seems well-intentioned, nice-sounding, and welfare-enhancing. The union consumer affairs ministry’s recent moves towards a ‘one nation, one charging port’ for all electronic devices (except for wearables) demonstrates the need to be wary of intuitive solutions to complex policy problems.

India is following the European Union example here, which has banned all chargers except USB-C from 2024. The intent is two-fold—reducing consumer inconvenience because of multiple chargers. And two, reducing e-waste. Lofty goals. Who could say these aren’t problems that need to be solved?