The fragmented Rs 30,000-crore stainless steel utensil industry will, for the first time in India, get a quality benchmark soon to manufacture food- grade kitchenwares for domestic supply and exports.
According to N C Mathur, president of Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) and director of Jindal Stainless, the draft is in final stage of print and would be ready within a month.
Conservatively, the Indian stainless steel utensil industry will see the basic norms in place by the end of March and they would start producing kitchenwares manufactured by Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS)-certified raw material by the beginning of the next financial year.
The development assumes significance as the absence of proper guidelines for new player’s entry and standard of quality specifications creating unwanted competition for existing quality players.