The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gave its approval to introduction of a new Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015.
The Bill will be introduced in the Parliament.
The new Bill will provide legislative framework for following new provisions other than the provisions in the existing Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 which is proposed to be repealed.
The main objectives of the proposed legislation are to establish the Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India.
The Bureau will perform its functions through a Governing Council, which will consist of its President and other members.
The Bill seeks to include goods, services and systems, besides articles and processes under the standardization regime , to enable the government to bring under the mandatory certification regime such articles, process or service which it considers necessary from the point of view of health, safety, environment, prevention of deceptive practices, security etc.
This will help consumers receive ISI certified products and will also help in prevention of import of sub-standard products and allow multiple types of simplified conformity assessment schemes including Self Declaration Of Conformity (SDOC) against any standard which will give multiple simplified options to manufacturers to adhere to standards and get a certificate of conformity, thus improving the "ease of doing business.
The other objectives of the proposed legislation are to enable the Government of India to appoint any authority, in addition to the Bureau of Indian Standards, to verify the conformity of products and services to a standard and issue certificate of conformity.
It will also enable the government to implement mandatory hallmarking of precious metal articles; to strengthen penal provisions for better and effective compliance and enable compounding of offences for violations; to provide recall, including product liability of products bearing the Standard Mark, but not conforming to relevant Indian Standards and repeal of the BIS Act, 1986.
Consequential amendments will be made subsequently in the rules and regulations to ensure implementation of the new Bill.
The proposed provisions in the new Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 will empower the Central Government and the Bureau of Indian Standards to promote a culture of quality of products and services through mandatory/voluntary compliance with Indian standards through the process of 'product certification' and 'Certificate of Conformity' with a broad objective of consumer's welfare. It is also expected to improve enforcement of Indian standards.
The proposed provisions will also promote harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and services, to provide for compulsory hallmarking of precious metal articles, widening the scope of conformity assessment, to enhance penalties, to make offences compoundable and to simplify certain provisions in the Act.
