India should be a Pioneer of Standards, said Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce and Industry while delivering presidential address during 77th Foundation Day of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) here today. BIS along with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) jointly organised the ‘Dialogue for Strengthening Quality Ecosystem in India’ to mark the day. The Union Minister said 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 on he said that this can be achieved through increase in stakeholder consultations and by involving industry representatives.
Mr 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% jwellery that people are buying is hallmarked. He said that till 2014, there were only 14 Quality Control Orders of 106 products. But, now, there are 156 QCOs of 672 products. Union Minister said that 90% of the QCOs came in last few years when Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi led the country. Talking about toys, he said that 52% decline in toy imports was reported from 2015 compared to 2023 because of QCOs that mandated quality above all. “QCO’s are being processed in nearly 2500 more items which reflects our commitment towards quality by providing high standards goods and services,” he said.
The Union Minister said that 9 years ago, PM gave 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. Shri Goyal said that PM’s vision is being adopted and as a result the consumers have become quality conscious. Quoting PM he said, “Over decades, India had been dependent on foreign standards for quality. Now India’s pace & progress will be decided by our own standards.”
