India should be a Pioneer of Standards, said Union Minister Piyush Goyal while delivering presidential address during the 77th Foundation Day of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister said that BIS should not just be an adopter of standards. He said that the standards should be made compatible to international standards wherever possible, for example, lifts or air filters or medical items. Adding further, he said that this can be achieved through increase in stakeholder consultations and by involving industry representatives.
Union Minister Goyal applauded the efforts of BIS in hallmarking jewelry and pointed out that mandatory hallmarking covers 343 districts. More than 4.3 lakh articles are hallmarked every day and 90% jewelry that people are buying is hallmarked.
Until 2014, there were only 14 Quality Control Orders (QCO) of 106 products. However, these numbers have now increased. There are now 156 QCOs of 672 products. India has also seen 52% decline in toy imports from 2015 compared to 2023 because of QCOs that mandated quality above all.
The Union Minister said, “QCO’s are being processed in nearly 2500 more items which reflects our commitment towards quality by providing high standards goods and services.”
India has been working with the vision of Zero Defect, Zero Effect which means that India should make products of high quality that are sustainable, eco-friendly have zero climate impact. He said that quality is cost effective which in turn helps the industry and consumers. He said that Quality is a common factor and it is necessary.
The Union Minister also appealed to young generation to become the Young Ambassadors of Quality and of Viksit Bharat. He said that the youngsters can promote e learning, and can upgrade PARAKH initiative in colleges & universities.
