Telecommunications and information technology are the fastest growing industries today not only in India but world over. Manufacturers' As¬sociation for Information Technology (MAIT) has collected the following statistics on the growth of electronics and IT equipment in India:

1. PC sales were over 7.3 million units during 2007-08, growing by 16 per cent. There is an installed base of over 25 million units.

2. The consumer electronics market is growing at the rate of 13-15 per cent annually. It has an installed base of 120 million TVs.

3. The cellular subscriber base was up by 96.86 per cent during 2007-08. Its installed base is estimated to cross 300 million mark by 2010.

With the unprecedented induction and growth in the electronics industry, obsolescence rate has also increased. People are phasing out/replacing their IT, communication and consumer electronics equipment including white and brown goods as shown in Table II.

As per a GTZ-MAIT sponsored study conducted recently by IMRB, e-waste generated in India during 2007 was around 332,979 MT besides about 50,000 MT entering the country by way of imports. The reasons for generation of this large quantity of e-waste were unprecedented growth of the IT industry during the last decade, and the early product obsolescence due to continuous innovation. Thus the net effect is the e-waste turning into a fastest growing waste stream.

However, the total e-waste available in 2007 for recycling and refurbishing was 144,143 MT. Of this, only 19,000 MT of e-waste could be processed.