The government has decided to not amend the existing norms on the electro-magnetic field (EMF) radiation emissions by the telecom towers and mobile phones. The decision has been taken on the basis of a report submitted by an official committee of the Department of Telecommunications which has been working with members from various science institutes and research organisations of the country.

According to the report, the precautionary EMF safe exposure limits are adequate in the country. Moreover, these standards are already stricter than those prevailing in most of the other countries. Therefore, the report concluded against making any change to the existing norms.

Constituted in 2013, the committee had been asked to evaluate the various concerns in public regarding the ill-effects of EMF radiation from telecom towers and mobile phones by orders of the Allahabad High Court. The court’s decision had come as a result of the petition filed over setting up of mobile towers in the areas close to human populations. The petitioner had claimed that the radiations from mobile towers are harmful for human health.

Although the committee has observed that there is no conclusive scientific evidence to directly co-relate health degradation with the exposure to EMF radiation from mobile towers, it has, however, recommended certain precautions over the use of mobile phones. The precautions include holding the mobile device away from the body, avoiding long duration calls, use of hands-free and wired headsets, and avoiding conversations when mobile signal or phone battery is weak.