Govt to boost quality standards of 1.5 million SMEs

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 7

The government is working on a plan to boost the quality standards of 1.5 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which will support the Make in India campaign.

Speaking at a conclave organised by the Quality Council of India (QCI), Amitabh Kant, Secretary, DIPP, said the Zero Defect, Zero Effect (ZED) movement being initiated by the QCI will change the manufacturing landscape of the country, transforming the MSME sector completely.

QCI chief Adil Zainulbhai said the council was working on programmes to improve the standard of goods and services of the MSME sector.

"In the next five years, we hope to help 1.5 million SMEs in improving the quality of their products," he said, adding the QCI would seek the help of global institutions in achieving this goal.

On the ease of doing business, Kant said the Commerce and Industry Ministry will integrate all the Central and state government services to the e-Biz platform.

The e-Biz portal provides one-stop clearance platform for investment proposals.

"We have created an e-Biz platform where we are integrating (Central and state services). Fourteen services of Government of India have been integrated. But over the period of time, we will integrate all the state and Central government services so that there is one paper and one point of payment to make India an easy and simple place to do business", Kant said.

Kant also called for boosting manufacturing sector of the country in order to create jobs and boost economic growth.

The QCI is also working to improve the quality standards of rural hospitals. Zainulbhai said, “We have now started a programme that will do certification of Yoga instructors and certification of clinics...We are also trying to get to the point where we can accredit the very large number of rural hospitals and primary health centres around India so that we can improve the quality of these services that are delivered to every citizen”.