US equipments don't work in India

I guess its been an something which every one has experienced, somebody gifted you a gadget but you have not been able to use it because of electrical incompatibility. Few months back I received a gift from US, a Hair Dryer (works on 110V 60Hz Type 2 socket along) but since that day Its in my cupboard. To use it I need 2 things a socket adapter and voltage converter to connect with our Indian power supply (India works in European Voltage standard that is 220V/50 Hz where as US works on 110-120V/60 Hz). It looks so silly that if you buy an appliance in India you might not be able to use it in US or vice versa.

Now I can bear if I can’t use my gift, because of the different voltage ranges and AC frequencies used through out the world. But the worst thing is that there are further divisions into various sockets types. Do you know American Standard use Socket type A and B where as others, with European standard use Socket type C to M. When countries have adopted only 2 standards for voltage and frequency, then literally why they use a whole bunch of standards for Electrical Sockets. Frustrated I decided to write about this menace and searched internet.

Not in every country, but at least 13 different types of electrical sockets are used internationally. America and Japan use 2 flat vertical input Type A (w/o grounding pole) and Type B(with grounding pole) sockets. Europe, The Middle East and much of Africa use Type C socket able to handle a no of different voltage and this feature makes it Standard Socket in Europe, popularly known as Europlug. Type D used almost in India and Nepal. And these series further going upto Type M are used by different countries like Australia, New Zealand, UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong kong etc.

Electricity around the world provides comprehensive details on Electrical sockets. Once you go through the lookup table in above link you will definitely come to know the reason why we are now stuck with no less than 13 different styles of plugs and wall outlets, is because many countries preferred to develop a plug of their own which doesn’t make a proper sense, instead of adopting any standard for all. If you venture out in the market to find an extension chord for your latest gadget you come across ones with various different type of sockets. Though Type D is a standard socket type other socket types are aplenty in the market. One of the reasons could be the rising imports from countries like China, Singapore and Hong Kong where type L and Type G sockets are the norms. So now I have a hairdryer which has Type A (or sometimes Type C) plugs but a Socket with Type G. Result is loose hanging sockets and ultimately the sparking. Now do I need to mention that this not only destroys your Hairdryer but can also cause a fire. Hey does anyone have data on how many fire have Electrical sparking as the cause? My wish, if only the socket types are standardized or at least some guidelines are issued for the exporters regarding what types of Sockets should be imported. The other solution could be levy a higher import duties on certain type of sockets which do not comply to Indian Standards of Electrical sockets.