Indo-German dialogue on role of Standards Developing Organisations intensified: Indian delegation visits Berlin and Frankfurt
India
To achieve the vision “one nation - one standard”, the Indian government is encouraging more than 50 Standards Developing Organisations (SDOs) to engage more actively in standards development. This shall contribute to a more coordinated and harmonised formulation of standards within the country and internationally.
In October 2019, a draft scheme for the recognition of SDOs was circulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) – the national standards body in India. It describes the criteria, procedures and operation based on which SDOs can get recognised by BIS. A recognition allows SDOs to propose to BIS to accept a standard as an Indian Standard.
Within the framework of the Indo-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure, the German standardisation bodies DIN and DKE commented the draft scheme, especially highlighting the importance of meeting the World Trade Organisation (WTO) requirements for SDOs.
The draft scheme was discussed during a delegation visit to Germany from 13. to 15. November. Anil Bahuguna, Joint Secretary from the Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and officers from BIS visited Berlin and Frankfurt. The delegation met the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the German standardisation bodies DIN and DKE to exchange on the German mechanism of involving SDOs.
The proposed recognition scheme for SDOs in India was also discussed with representatives of the DIN Standards Committee Mechanical Engineering at the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) and Standards Committee Automotive of DIN at the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).
Collaboration with SDOs and a stronger involvement of stakeholders such as industry associations and SMEs in standardisation are key topics discussed between India and Germany as part of the Indo-German Standardisation Dialogue within the framework of the Indo-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure. The dialogue on the importance of WTO requirements for SDOs will be continued. An Indo-German exchange is planned for January 2020 within the framework of 7th Annual Meeting of the Indo-German Working Group in New Delhi.
The Global Project Quality Infrastructure (GPQI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) supports Indo-German cooperation in the areas of standardisation, conformity assessment, accreditation, product safety and market surveillance. As part of GPQI, GIZ – the German Agency for International Cooperation – has been commissioned by BMWi to support the implementation of the project in India.