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New Delhi : Union Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Railways and Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on March 1, 2021, virtually presided over the 3rd Governing Council meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards.
It was attended by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Rao Saheb Patil Danve, Mahesh Poddar, Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha, Secretary Department of Consumer Affairs, DG, BIS, P.K. Tiwari, Chairman QCI Adil Zainulbhai, and other senior officials of the Ministry and Bureau of Indian Standards.
Goyal reviewed the process of making Indian Standards and their implementation with BIS officials, senior officials from different Ministries/ Regulators etc. Wide ranging discussions were held on how standards are set and what can be done to make their implementation/ enforcement better. It was emphasised that there should be `One Nation One Standard’ and Indian Standard should be set as per global benchmarks, according to a PIB release.
Addressing the governing council meeting, Goyal said that there is a need to change the approach of the country towards standardisation. He said PM Narendra Modi has given the three mantra for faster economic development i.e. SPEED, SKILL and SCALE. Now it is time to add fourth dimension of “STANDARD” to this.
Goyal said that the standard testing fees should also be reduced in the initial years for the MSMEs, Start-Ups, and for Women Entrepreneurs. This will encourage them to get their products certified and also encourage ease of doing business. The Minister directed BIS to go in for massive expansion and modernisation of testing labs so that entrepreneurs don’t have to travel far to get the testing and certification of standards. He said that we have to ensure that no one has to travel far for quality check for want of testing labs.
He instructed BIS to create a Customer Charter to usher in highest transparency in its certification process and inspections. Goyal said that products manufactured in India should be of international standards whether it is manufactured for local market or for international market. It should not be diluted to give advantage to any person or institution, whether private or government.
Goyal said that it is a challenge for BIS to fast track the standard setting processes, especially for these programmes of national priority. BIS must therefore ensure that its Technical Committees develop required new standards in the quickest possible time for products where presently none exists, or review and revise existing standards whenever required.