44th Edition of The ISO COPOLCO Plenary | 24 May 2023

Why in News?

India is hosting the 44th edition of the ISO COPOLCO Plenary in New Delhi from 23-26 May 2023. This event is organised by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

What is ISO COPOLCO Plenary?

  • About:
    • ISO COPOLCO is the Committee on Consumer Policy, a committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
    • It ensures standards are developed with consumer needs in mind and promotes consumer engagement in the standardization process.
  • Significance:
    • The ISO COPOLCO Plenary plays a crucial role in shaping global standards and subsequently impacting the lives of people worldwide.
    • The event fosters collaboration among ISO member countries and strategizes for the accelerated development of standards.
  • Importance:
    • The event aims to address challenges and good practices for consumer engagement, sustainable futures, and legal frameworks for consumer protection.
    • It provides a platform for high-level speakers, including ministers and eminent personalities, to discuss consumer-related matters.

What is ISO?

  • About:
    • It is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries.
    • It develops and publishes standardization in all technical and nontechnical fields other than electrical and electronic engineering, which is handled by the IEC.
    • ISO officially came into existence in 1947.
  • Headquarters:
    • Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Official languages:
    • English, French, and Russian.
  • Members:
    • ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 168 national standards bodies.
  • India's Role in International Standardization:
    • India has been actively involved in international standardization efforts and was one of the founding members of ISO.
    • The BIS serves as the National Standards Body of India and participates in international and regional standardization initiatives.
      • BIS is a member of ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and regional standards bodies like Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC), and the South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) within the framework of IBSA.

What is Bureau of Indian Standards?

  • BIS is the National Standard Body of India for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods.
    • It was established by the BIS Act, 1986 which came into effect in December 1986 and a new BIS Act 2016 was brought into force in 2017.
  • BIS works under the aegis of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
  • BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways by:
    • Providing safe reliable quality goods.
    • Minimizing health hazards to consumers.
    • Promoting exports and imports substitute.
    • Control over proliferation of varieties etc through standardization, certification and testing.

Source: PIB