Goyal directs Bureau of Indian Standards to provide relief to MSMEs

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal directed BIS to go in for massive expansion and modernization of testing labs so that entrepreneurs don't have to travel far to get the testing and certification of standards.

New Delhi:The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal on Monday virtually presided the third Governing Council meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards. Goyal reviewed the process of making Indian Standards and their implementation with officials Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS), senior officials from different Ministries and Regulators.

A wide range of discussions were held on how standards are set and what can be done to make their implementation as well as enforcement better. It was emphasised that there should be 'One Nation One Standard' and Indian Standard should be set as per global benchmarks.

While addressing the governing council meeting Goyal said that there is a need to change the approach of the country towards standardization. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the three mantras for faster economic development — speed, skill and scale. Now it is time to add the fourth dimension of "standard" to this.

The Minister said that the standard testing fees should also be reduced in the initial years for the MSMEs, startups and for women entrepreneurs. This will encourage them to get their products certified and also encourage ease of doing business.

The Minister directed BIS to go in for massive expansion and modernization of testing labs so that entrepreneurs don't have to travel far to get the testing and certification of standards. He said that we have to ensure that no one has to travel far for quality check for want of testing labs.

Goyal also instructed BIS to create a Customer Charter to usher in the highest transparency in its certification process and inspections.

He said that products manufactured in India should be of international standards whether it is manufactured for the local market or for the international market. "It should not be diluted to give advantage to any person or institution, whether private or government," he said.

He added that it is a challenge for BIS to fast track the standard-setting processes, especially for these programs of national priority

BIS has already formulated various Indian Standards comparable with the International Standards such as Electric vehicles, Fuel blends, Smart City Digital Infrastructure, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Manufacturing, Technical Textiles, Aerial Ropeways, etc.

BIS is operating more than 37,000 product certification licences all over the country