Department of Commerce, Government of India in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and other knowledge partners is organizing the 4th National Standards Conclave on 1-2 May 2017 at New Delhi.

The objective of the two day Conclave is to bring awareness and 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.

It must be recognized that 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 Ministries/regulators/state governments have to also realize that their initiatives and schemes have to be built around global standards if they have to succeed in their objectives.

A good standards regime shall fulfill the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister for “Make in India” campaign. It would also help in preventing flooding of domestic market with unsafe/sub-standard imports at the expense of our domestic industry as well as consumers.

Our collective endeavor has to be in creating an ecosystem where adoption of appropriate standards leads to a sense of pride and has in-built incentive for the Industry. 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 conclave will have 9 sessions spread over 2 days:

i.   Inaugural session

ii.   Session 1: Theme paper on National Strategy on Standards

iii.   Session 2: Standards as drivers/disruptors of international trade

iv.   Session 3: MSME’s and Standards – gap analysis for an Indian National Standards Strategy

v.    Session 4: Standards in goods: Addressing issues in a policy framework

vi.   Session 5: Risk assessment in agri-food trade and policy options

vii.  Session 6: Services Sector: A robust standards ecosystem and conformity assessment within a policy framework: (Tourism, Medical Value Travel, and Education)

viii.  Session 7: Digital and IT standards: Meeting Future Challenges

ix.   Session 8: Standards for Skills and skills based services

x.    Session 9: Way Forward

Standards adoption must align industry and policy with global norms to secure market access and consumer safety. Promotion of adoption of Standards as a regulatory and trade instrument to align Indian industry and public policy with global norms is the principal objective, convening ministries, regulators, standards-setting and conformity assessment bodies and industry to eliminate differential domestic/export standards, integrate global standards into government initiatives, prevent unsafe or sub standard imports, and support domestic competitiveness through development of an Indian National Strategy for Standardization (INSS)

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