ZED to get budget push

The Budget might see allocation to the zero effect, zero defect (ZED) model, which aims to rate and help one million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) deliver top quality products using clean technology.

This will facilitate the government's Make in India campaign to boost manufacturing. "ZED project will likely see some allocation this year in the Budget. The idea is to sensitise SMEs to give importance to packaging and branding. They will be trained to deliver quality products with zero defect, hence zero rejection," said a government official.

The programme is expected to be launched in two months.

The ZED maturity model is being jointly worked out by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, department of industrial policy and promotion and the Quality Council of India, and is expected to be finalised within a month. The plan is to help SMEs evolve and grow by providing adequate training and funding. "The idea is that Indian products must be perceived as top quality products by the world, which will help our manufacturers move up the value chain and draw buyers from the west," said the official.

MSMEs contribute nearly eight per cent to the country's gross domestic product, 45 per cent to manufacturing output and 40 per cent to exports.

The government has so far conducted close to 40 workshops on ZED across cities.

The idea is to have a globally recognised Brand India, famous for zero defect, zero effect manufacturing - free from defects, and with no adverse impact on the environment. The process involve manual skilling, technology upgrade and automation, among others.

DECODING THE ZED MODEL

• The zero effect, zero defect (ZED) model, expected to be launched in two months, aims to rate and help 1 mn small and medium enterprises deliver top quality products using clean technology
• The model is being jointly worked out by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, dept of industrial policy and promotion and the Quality Council of India, and is expected to be finalised within a month
• The programme will initially focus on units in food products and beverages, textiles, fabricated metals products, chemicals and wearing apparel
• Companies will be assigned star ratings on a scale of  1-5, based on their levels of competence, technology and quality
• Also, there will be categories for each parameter ranging from bronze to silver, gold diamond and platinum, bronze being the lowest and diamond being the highest rating

"The Make in India campaign will see foreign companies come and set up manufacturing in the country and will require certain benchmark for quality. That makes it important for SMEs to improve processes and systems to ensure quality," said the official.

Clean energy will be an important aspect of the model. "Enterprises will be encouraged and hand-held to adopt clean technology to attain sustainable growth trajectory. Manufacturing should also not have an adverse impact on the environment," said the official.

The programme will initially focus on units in food products and beverages, textiles, fabricated metals products, chemicals and wearing apparel.

Companies will be assigned star ratings on a scale of one to five, based on their levels of competence, technology and quality on 61 parameters. Along with that, there will be categories for each parameter ranging from bronze to silver, gold diamond and platinum. A bronze star will be the lowest rating, and diamond five stars the highest. The parameters include infrastructure, quality of machines, waste disposal system, provisions to deal with smoke and fuel use.

There will be sector-specific parameters for each industry, such as food processing, textiles, leather and auto parts, for assessment.