New Delhi, July 31 - Refrigerators, air-conditioners, distribution transformers and fluorescent lamps will need mandatory ratings from the Indian government's Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) from Jan 7 next year, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh announced here Friday.

'The necessary notifications are being prepared,' Ramesh told reporters. 'The mandatory standards will include all these appliances made and sold in India, including those meant for export.'

Six months after the mandatory energy efficiency ratings are introduced, they will be expanded to cover all electric motors, cooking (LPG) stoves and colour television sets, the minister added.

Energy efficiency is one of the eight thrust areas in India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, unveiled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh June 30 last year.