Break Glass Ceiling in Global Standards: India Inc Urged to Act

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Thursday asked Indian manufacturers to shed their "passive" attitude and recognise their potential in setting global standards, particularly in sectors like artificial intelligence.

Speaking at a CII event, Khare expressed concern over India's absence from the top five nations in international standards meetings, which she said were dominated by European countries.

"For the first time, at least now, there is a concern that we have to turn the tables. We have the capacity, we have the brains," she said.

The senior bureaucrat pointed out that despite India's superior talent in the AI sector, there remains a "glass ceiling" that needs to be broken.

Sharing her experience from a recent meeting in Germany, Khare noted that while foreign industry representatives actively discuss their products and regulatory challenges, Indian counterparts remain tight-lipped.

"We did not wake up because there is huge passivity. We love to blame others," she said, criticising the tendency of Indian manufacturers to blame others rather than taking responsibility for improvement.

Citing the Ayush sector as an example, she highlighted how India often has to comply with standards set by other nations, even when they don't align with local conditions.

"They have made the standards, and they have made the world comply to those standards. Even if we have never experienced, say, temperatures below 10 degrees, but then the standards are conforming to minus 40," she said.

On the policy front, Khare outlined government initiatives to strengthen quality compliance, including the integration of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).

She also highlighted the expansion of testing infrastructure, incorporating private labs and National Test Houses to provide world-class services.

Khare also discussed the impact of e-commerce on traditional retail practices and stressed the need for quality assurance in online purchases.

Emphasizing the need for industry participation in standards-making, Khare said: "You have to come forward and say in Indian conditions, this is what we want. But I see very tardy approach of both the associations as well as manufacturers. I think this needs to be changed."

She emphasised the potential for significant advancements across various sectors, moving beyond incremental progress.