Government to bring more products under mandatory quality norm: Piyush Goyal

Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on January 6 said the government will bring more products under the mandatory quality norm as India moves towards becoming a developed nation by 2047.

Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on January 6 said the government will bring more products under the mandatory quality norm as India moves towards becoming a developed nation by 2047.

Addressing virtually the 77th foundation day of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Mr. Goyal said complying with high quality standards in products and services will help India achieve high goals and become a developed nation.

Towards this direction, the BIS should become an ambassador of quality standards. "It should not just become an adopter of standards, but should be a pioneer of standards," he said.

That apart, the BIS should frame quality standards comparable to international standards wherever possible. "For example in products such as lift, air filters and medical devices, I think India can be a front-runner and set international standards." He also urged for much greater stakeholder engagement for making quality standards and asked the industry to be more demanding to set labs for testing the quality.

Hailing the BIS efforts in creating a quality conscious nation, the Minister said bringing more products under the mandatory compliance of quality norms issued through the Quality Control Order (QCO) has ensured availability of quality products/services to the consumers.

“So far, 156 QCOs have been issued, covering 672 products. Before 2014, only 106 products were covered under 14 QCOs,” he said.