The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), on Monday, said the Quality Control Order, which will bring the footwear sector under the ambit of mandatory quality standards, will be implemented from July 1.
Pramod Tiwari, Director General, BIS, told mediapersons that large and medium-scale footwear manufacturers and all importers will need to follow the mandatory quality standards from July 1. He added that for small-scale footwear makers, the effective implementation date has been extended till January 1, while for the micro footwear industry, the mandatory quality standards will be applicable from July 1.
Ensuring quality
“No further extension will be provided. This QCO will ensure domestic production of quality footwear and check sub-standard imports,” he said.
The QCO for 27 footwear and related products were notified in October 2020 and thereafter extension was given thrice before making it mandatory for large and medium-scale industries from next month. Tiwari added that of these five standards have been revised recently and the footwear manufacturers making products in accordance with revised standards will be given additional time of six months with effect from January 1.
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With this, the total number of footwear products under the QCO (quality control order) stands at 27 out of 54. “We also plan to bring the balance 27 footwear products under the QCO in the next six months. The work is underway,” Tiwari said.
Test facilities
Test facilities have been created in 2 BIS labs, 2 Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) Labs, Central Leather Research Institute and 11 private labs for testing footwear, BIS added.
In the textiles sector, mandatory compliance of quality standards for making ‘protective clothing for firefighting’ as well as ‘geo-textiles related 19 products’ will come into force from October.
Currently, 470 products are under the mandatory quality standard regime. BIS has shared another 600 products with ministries for consideration to bring them under the QCO, Tiwari added.
Meanwhile, BIS has also unveiled a “public call facility” through which stakeholders can share suggestions, queries or complaints regarding the BIS initiatives and related matters. The facility will be active on all working days from 10-11 am.
The BIS also launched an online exchange forum ‘Manak Rath’ on its website to enable users to get connected and share their views. Student members of standards clubs can also participate in various activities and competitions and win exciting prizes, it added.