India, Germany sign agreement on setting up quality infrastructure

India, Germany sign agreement on setting up quality infrastructure

India’s consumer affairs department and a German ministry signed on Tuesday an agreement on improve quality infrastructure

The work plan was signed at the ninth annual meeting of the Indo-German working group on quality infrastructure in Berlin. “The technical dialogues of the working group address key areas of economic cooperation between the two countries. In addition, they promote systemic harmonisation of quality infrastructure (QI) at an international level,” the department said in a statement.

 

Nidhi Khare, additional secretary in the department of consumer affairs, and Daniela Broenstrup, Germany’s director general, digital and innovation policy, federal ministry for economic affairs and climate action, during their meeting emphasised the working group’s role in reducing technical barriers to trade and promoting innovation and consumer protection.

The annual meeting was attended by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the German Institute for Standardization (DIN), the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (DKE), other quality infrastructure organisations as well as industry associations including Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Stakeholders from QI bodies and industry provided insights on current QI developments in Germany and India. “The work plan 2023 is structured along the key elements of QI, including standardisation, accreditation, conformity assessment, legal metrology, product safety and market surveillance,” said the department of consumer affairs.

The work plan addresses topics like harmonised global solutions as well as sector-specific cooperation topics, such as digitalisation (artificial intelligence, cyber security), circular economy, smart farming and machinery safety.