Continuing its efforts to check imports of cheap products, especially from China, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working on quality control orders (QCOs) for ceiling fans and electric smart meters that will allow only Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certified items to be sold domestically, a source tracking the matter has said.
“Both smart meters and ceiling fans are mass production items. Coming up with QCOs for these will give a big boost to domestic industry as it will put a check on cheaper imports and will also benefit consumers as they would be assured of good quality,” the source told businessline.
Examining existing standards
Simultaneously, the government is carrying out a drive to examine existing standards across sectors to identify products where the domestic industry has the capacity to implement quality orders and where the required testing infrastructure already exists so that QCOs can be framed.
The DPIIT has already issued 20 QCOs in the last three years for products such as toys, leather and rubber footwear, safety glass and sewing machines compared to just 19 issued between 2000 and 2019.
Extensive consultations
“The government needs to hold extensive consultations with the industry before coming up with a QCO. In case a particular industry is not ready to meet high quality norms, a QCO can create domestic shortage as imports, too, would decline because of mandatory certification requirement,” the source said.
Moreover, the BIS, too, has to be ready with the required infrastructure, the source pointed out. “After standards are made, there needs to be a product manual indicating how testing is supposed to happen. We need to have labs ready to do the testing,”he said.
Over 450 products are under the ambit of mandatory certification, per data shared by the government. A large number of them are consumer products such as toys, cement, electric iron, electric immersion water heater, domestic food mixer, switches, helmets, domestic pressure cookers and automotive tyres.
Several consumer electronic products also now require compulsory quality certification such as mobile phones, laptops, TV, power adapters, power banks and digital camera.