India to Embark on Mission of ‘One Nation One Standard’; Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI: It’s time to embark on Mission “One Nation One Standard” and make India the leader in setting global benchmarks in setting standards’ said Piyush Goyal, Minister for Railways and Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution while reviewing the work of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that while all areas of production and services be included in this national mission, bringing a national uniformity and standardization in all kinds of public procurement and tendering can be an immediate deliverable.

He also emphasises that strength & character of nation is often exemplified by the standards it sets for the quality of its products and services.  It is time for India to settle for nothing less than the best.

The minister also highlights that BIS should explore International partnerships and associations to achieve synergy in the field. The lab testing in India should be world standards. Modern equipment’s and latest technologies should be used there. He added that Gap analysis of BIS and Government labs be taken up on priority basis as well.

Referring to the issue of different Institutions and PSUs having variety of non-uniform standards, he said that effort should be made to merge different standards under one standard as much as possible. It may be noted that in management parlance, gap analysis refers to the comparison of actual performance with potential or desired performance.

The Minister said that Industry should be invited for more dialogue, participation and collaboration in this mission of “one nation one standard”. Process of granting certification should be kept as simple as possible and duplication of work should be avoided.

We should aim to be the world leader in having maximum industrial products under Indian Standards and no one should feel the need to go abroad to get quality certification, says Piyush Goyal.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of Department of Consumer Affairs and BIS besides others. Detailed presentation was made by BIS about various areas of the progress being made.