Current Challenges in India’s Quality Promotion Strategy

Quality infrastructure in general has the role to increase competitiveness of the industry, to facilitate international trade, to contribute to ensuring the safety of products and to ensure protection of consumers. This contribution is authored by the Quality Council of India, which was established in 1997 and is entrusted with the overall promotion of quality in India and the establishment and operation of national accreditation programmes in accordance with international standards. It presents and analyses India’s quality infrastructure ecosystem and its challenges. The main bodies for three pillars of QI—metrology, standardization and accreditation—and their responsibilities are introduced, and the objectives, activities and achievements of the Quality Council of India are discussed in detail for a broad range of sectors. International and domestic challenges for India’s quality infrastructure are analysed before a conclusion highlights the needs for improvement and change.