Goyal wants zero-tolerance policy on standards

India has not been able to take advantage of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) due to the poor quality of Indian goods or due to Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

Not only did Indian goods find it difficult to penetrate overseas markets due to poor quality, goods coming in from overseas were also of poor-quality, largely due to the under-rated standards prevailing in India, he pointed out.

Speaking at a Conclave organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on 15 Jan 2020, he called for a zero-tolerance policy in terms of standards needed to be put in place.

The Minister told the agencies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to look at the entire issue of standards in a mission mode.

He called for National Treatment to be accorded to standards i.e. the same standards would apply to both goods produced in India as well as imported goods.

He was also of the view that India needed to step up the infrastructure required for standards such as testing facilities and laboratories.

He highlighted the need to enter into Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA’s) with other countries in terms of standards compliance.

The Minister mentioned that several items were being imported under the category of “Others” making it difficult to determine the standards which apply to them.

He announced that the Department of Commerce would soon issue a notification banning imports under the category of “Others”.

Henceforth, a special license would be required to import goods under this category. fiinews.com