New Delhi — The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has taken up development of standards for 43 products identified by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) for manufacturing quality products in the country under Make in India programme.
The BIS has also decided to develop or upgrade standards for basic consumer services like potable water, waste collection and disposal besides revising the National Building Code to promote safe and environment friendly construction in the country.
In a meeting of the governing body of the BIS chaired by Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, this announcement was made. The meeting was attended by Members of Parliament, representatives of various central ministries and technical experts from different sectors.
Reviewing the performance of the BIS, the minister directed that labs of the bureau in each State should be upgraded on a priority basis and facilities for testing of more products should be arranged. He also asked the BIS to develop or revise standards regarding street food and products that people routinely use. A mass awareness campaign should also be launched, too, he said, to make people quality conscious.
Underlining the importance of transparency in licensing of standards, Paswan asked the BIS to encourage industry to adopt a self-declaration scheme for adopting standards. He was informed that 250 products had already been notified by the bureau for this purpose. The roadmap for computerisation of BIS has been prepared to make all its functions and processes IT-enabled, bureau officials informed Paswan who directed it to complete the work by March 2016.
Participating in the discussion, MPs suggested that the BIS should arrange promotion of ISI marked consumer products with the help of State governments.
Some MPs wanted the BIS to try to standardise Ayurvedic products as well. They also urged the bureau to set standards for biodegradable packaging of drinking water and other consumer products.
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