Standards & QCOs: A strategic lever for Viksit Bharat manufacturing agenda

Prime Minister, in his Independence Day address in 2014, urged the industry, especially MSMEs of India, to manufacture goods in the country with "zero defects" and to ensure that the goods have "zero effect" on the environment (ZED). The revised BIS Act was promulgated in 2016, providing stronger legal backing to bring under compulsory certification regime any goods or article of any scheduled industry, process, system or service which the government considers necessary in the public interest or for the protection of human, animal or plant health, safety of the environment, prevention of unfair trade practices, or national security. The intent was clear — as we move towards Viksit Bharat, the government wants to raise the quality bar in the domestic market and eventually for exports.

 

 

In the last few years, we have seen enactment of regulations by the Government of India that “raised the floor” by imposing a minimum quality standard on all producers selling in the domestic market. A total of 187 Quality Control Orders (QCOs), covering 769 products, have been notified for compulsory BIS certification by various regulators and line ministries of the Government of India. Industry is fast catching up to comply with these regulations.

 

Notwithstanding some teething issues in the implementation of these QCOs, they have to be a key pillar of India’s industrial growth strategy. They are now emerging as strategic tools to strengthen India's manufacturing ecosystem, ensure consumer safety, and build global trust in Indian-made goods. The government has been systematically expanding the QCO regime across sectors to curb substandard imports, safeguard consumer interests, and foster a robust, quality-conscious manufacturing ecosystem without any major disruptions in the supply chain.

 

The government has adopted a consultative and collaborative approach to the formulation and implementation of QCOs, with an emphasis on active industry engagement. Reflecting the government’s sensitivity to industry readiness, especially for MSMEs, several QCOs have been notified with phased implementation timelines and given due extensions as well. The government is also undertaking concerted efforts to strengthen testing infrastructure, streamline certification processes, and extend capacity-building support.

 

Developed countries have long used technical regulations as tools, inter alia, to shape global trade dynamics. For many decades, India and other developing countries sought special and differential treatment for their exports to comply with such high — and often arbitrary — standards of the developed world, but to no avail.

 

India’s strategic use of QCOs reflects a shift from being a passive consumer market to an assertive, quality-focused manufacturing economy. Going forward, India must move from being an adaptor of international standards to a developer of these standards in international foras. Countries such as the Republic of Korea and, more recently, China have shifted from marginally participating in international standards-setting organisations such as the ISO or the IEC to chairing some of their working groups and developing an increasing number of standards. The time is now for India to set the standards on the world stage.

 

---

The author is the Director General of Ficci 

Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper