Bangalore: After having detected a manufacturing defect in a charger meant for Nokia 7210 handset, Nokia has announced an exchange programme for the charger in the Indian market. The company says that consumers, who own the chargers manufactured by a third-party supplier, are recommended to exchange these chargers for free.

Talking about the fault in the charger, Nokia explained, "During a routine quality control process, we identified a potential product quality issue with certain chargers manufactured by one of its third-party suppliers. The plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger's internal components and potentially posing an electric shock hazard if certain internal components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket

However, Nokia asserted that no complaint has been registered so far globally or in India and it was detected only through its internal quality control test programme. Ambrish Bakaya, Director, Corporate Affairs of Nokia India said, "As a responsible corporate citizen, and the most trusted brand in India, we have pro-actively initiated this exchange program to safeguard consumer interest."

In August 2007, Nokia had offered replacement of some of its 'BL-5C' batteries after scores of complaints about overheating. The company said that only one model of charger - AC-3E - manufactured by a third-party supplier between June 15 and August 9, 2009 falls within the scope of the latest global exchange programme.

Hence, the replacement will cover only chargers bought along with Nokia-7210 handsets after June 15, 2009. However, the officials declined to comment about the supplier of these chargers. But, the sources said that the supplier was a Chinese company. "Nokia is not aware of any incidents or injuries related to these chargers," company officials said.