Govt may make Bureau of Indian Standards must for public procurement

The development comes in the backdrop of the government's focus on increasing manufacturing and production of goods in the country

The commerce and industry ministry is working on a proposal to mandate various government departments, ministries, and public sector undertakings to procure products certified by the national standards body — the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Besides, if an Indian standard for a particular product does not exist, BIS will have to draw up such a standard within a ‘fixed time frame’, a senior government official told Business Standard.

These changes have been proposed in the draft amendments to the public procurement norms moved by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

“The idea is to promote the use of Indian