A good standards regime will help in preventing the flooding of domestic market with unsafe/sub-standard imports at the expense of the domestic industry as well as consumers, the commerce ministry said on Friday. The days of differential standards – low for domestic market and high for exports - are over and if the Indian industry has to survive and thrive, it has to adopt global standards, the ministry said in a statement.
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The ministry, in collaboration with the industry body CII, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and other knowledge partners is organizing a National Standards Conclave on May 1-2 in the national capital. The Conclave would also aim at preparing an Indian National Strategy for Standardization (INSS) document to enable the development of a harmonized, dynamic, and mature standards ecosystem in India, the ministry said.
It will prepare industries, Central Government Ministries, State Governments, regulatory/standards setting and conformity assessment bodies on the growing importance of “Standards” in the changing scenario of global trade. The Standards Conclave is being held in the backdrop of diminishing importance of tariffs and rising influence of standards and regulation both in goods and services trade, the ministry said. The Ministries/regulators/state governments have to also realise that their initiatives and schemes have to be built around global standards if they have to succeed in their objectives, it said, adding that a good standards regime shall also help the “Make in India” campaign.