Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has said that the techniques of improving quality, reliability and productivity can be applied to clean up administration, improve reliability of public services and increase agricultural productivity. He said that Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) can play a lead role in these areas that can bring about a positive change for the nation at large. Shri Mukherjee was speaking at the inaugural function of the International Congress on International Congress on Productivity, Quality, Reliability, Optimisation and Modelling-ICPQROM-2011 organized by the ISI along with the other two premier organisations Quality Council of India and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), here today. The International Congress was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India.

Remembering Prof. P C Mahalanobis, the founder of ISI, Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee said it was he who had realized the need for launching a Statistical Quality Control (SQC) movement for large scale training of industrial managers, executives, engineers, technicians and also government officials. The Finance Minister further said that Indian Industry has benefited a lot from training and problem solving services offered by ISI at an affordable price. 

Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee said that the quality movement now brings together many subjects including reliability, optimization and modelling techniques. He said that the successful applications of these techniques help industries to improve quality of whatever they do. Shri Mukherjee said that in India many sectors like pharmaceuticals, high tech manufacturing, automobiles, design engineering, IT and ITES have successfully used these techniques to improve the quality of their offerings significantly. The Finance Minister said that in many of these fields, India is now considered to be a force to reckon with – a significant change from the scenario that we had a few decades back, the Minister said. 

Shri Mukherjee said that with the passage of time, the form of the quality challenge has changed. With the massive development of computing technology and the huge advancement of the internet, the availability of data has increased manifold, he said. The Finance Minister said that the quality requirements also have become very stringent and now there is a lot of focus on various services and on areas like marketing and human resources. He said that this has required new techniques and approaches to be developed and researchers and practitioners in this field have experimented with many approaches. The Finance Minister further said that the Indian Statistical Institute has played a key role in this area by promoting application of statistical methodologies in many areas. Even within industries these methodologies are being used in hitherto untapped areas like finance, sales, advertisements, customer relationship management and security, said the Minister. 

The Text of the speech of the Finance Minister delivered at the occasion of inauguration of the International Congress on International Congress on Productivity, Quality, Reliability, Optimisation and Modelling-ICPQROM-2011is as follows: 

“It is a great pleasure to address for the International Congress on Productivity, Quality, Reliability, Optimization and Modelling with the very apt theme of ‘A journey towards excellence’. It is a matter satisfaction that this congress is being organized by the Indian Statistical Institute along with the other two premier organisations Quality Council of India and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 

The Indian Statistical Institute has all along been pioneer in the quality movement in India. In fact, Prof. P C Mahalanobis, the founder of ISI, was a polymath who had studied physics and mathematics, had deep interest in literature and finally turned to economics and statistics. Furthermore, he had realized the need for launching a Statistical Quality Control (SQC) movement and invited Dr. Walter Shewhart to India for three months during the winter of 1947 – 48. He realized the need for large scale training of industrial managers, executives, engineers, technicians and also government officials. At the same time he understood that industries should be supported for problem solving and accordingly SQC units were set up in different places from 1953 onwards. His untiring efforts to sustain the movement brought about large dividends – he invited all the top experts of the field and organized several seminars / conferences – to keep up the momentum. Indian industry benefited a lot from the large scale training and problem solving services offered by the Institute at an affordable price 

The seed sown by Prof. Mahalanobis has now grown into a huge tree over time. The SQC movement has grown into a full-fledged quality movement. It has been realized by industrialists as well as policy makers within the Government that quality and productivity are essential for growth in any field – be it business or administration. The quality movement now brings together many subjects including reliability, optimization and modelling techniques. The successful applications of these techniques help industries to improve quality of whatever they do. In India many sectors like pharmaceuticals, high tech manufacturing, automobiles, design engineering, IT and ITES have successfully used these techniques to improve the quality of their offerings significantly. So much so that in many of these fields India is now considered to be a force to reckon with – a significant change from the scenario that we had a few decades back. 

With the passage of time, the form of the quality challenge has changed. With the massive development of computing technology and the huge advancement of the internet, the availability of data has increased manifold. The quality requirements also have become very stringent and now there is a lot of focus on various services and on areas like marketing and human resources. This has required new techniques and approaches to be developed. Researchers and practitioners in this field have experimented with many approaches. The Indian Statistical Institute has played a key role in this area by promoting application of statistical methodologies in many areas. Even within industries these methodologies are being used in hitherto untapped areas like finance, sales, advertisements, customer relationship management and security. 

Quality Council of India (QCI) functioning under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is responsible for establishment and operation of national accreditation structure. QCI, being a joint venture of the government and the industry association, is a successful example of public-private partnership in the field of accreditation and quality control. Accreditation facilitates international trade by way of establishing equivalence and global acceptance of certification, inspection and testing being undertaken by various conformity assessment bodies, in areas of quality, environment, food safety etc. QCI through its National Quality Campaign has been promoting quality by enabling manufacturers and suppliers of goods and services to apply quality standards and tools and simultaneously empowering consumers to demand quality goods and services. The promotion of quality encompasses all segments including manufacturing, health, education and public services. 

DRDO, as we all know, is working for indigenous development of weapons, sensors & platforms required for the Armed Forces. DRDO also has been playing a crucial role in expanding and deepening the knowledge-base of life sciences in the country through strengthening and use of national resources including know-how and expertise. 

Institutions of research should continuously strive for excellence; constantly review their own performance through self appraisal. There is a need for our research institutions to develop linkages with the field and the intended beneficiaries. The pace of technology dissemination from the lab to the ultimate users in the industry and agriculture is slow. To enhance the productivity we must devise efficient and cost effective ways for transfer of technology. We also need to spend more and more on technology up- gradation and skill development to remain competitive and keep improving the quality of our products and services

Over the years, the exercises carried out in development and implementation of statistical methodologies for solving problems of a wide variety have led to accumulation of rich and varied experiences. On the one hand, practitioners have found innovative solutions and interesting ways to implement them. On the other hand academicians have developed newer tools and methodologies. The exchange of ideas, therefore, will be very valuable. In particular, many ideas will be generated that can be applied to different walks of life. The techniques of improving quality, reliability and productivity can be applied to clean up administration, improve reliability of public services and increase agricultural productivity. I believe that the ISI can play a lead role in these areas that can bring about a positive change for the nation at large. 

I am sure that in this conference a massive exchange of knowledge and ideas will take place. There will be learning from each other and also development of deep understanding regarding the issues involved in implementation of methodologies to reap the benefits of scientific development. I sincerely hope that this conference, with the overwhelming participation of experts that it has and the tremendous enthusiasm that it has generated, will facilitate a journey towards excellence.”