Quality Council of India (QCI)

• 07 Oct 2022

For Prelims: Quality Council of India (QCI), ASSOCHAM, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), FICCI

For Mains: Quality Council of India (QCI) and its Contribution

Why in News?

Recently, the Quality Council of India (QCI) has completed the 25 years of its existence.

• The QCI has also launched a campaign, ‘Gunvatta Se Atmanirbharta: India’s Quality Movement’ to celebrate India’s quality hubs, create awareness about India’s landmark achievements and inform people about initiatives to enhance the quality of life of all citizens.

What is the Quality Council of India (QCI)?

• History:
  • Quality Council of India (QCI) was established as a National body for Accreditation in 1996.
  • Accordingly, QCI was set up through a PPP model as an independent autonomous organization with the support of Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations,
    • Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
    • Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
    • Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
• About:
  • QCI is a non-profit organization registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860.
  • Nodal Ministry is the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Composition:
  • It is governed by a Council of 38 members with equal representations of government, industry and consumers.
  • Chairman of QCI is appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the industry to the government.
• Objective:
  • To create a mechanism for independent third-party assessment of products, services, and processes.
  • It plays a pivotal role at the national level in propagating, adoption and adherence to quality standards in all important spheres of activities including education, healthcare, environment protection, governance, social sectors, infrastructure sector and such other areas of organized activities that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life and wellbeing of the citizens of India.

How has India's Quality Council Contributed?

• Transformation in the Coal Ecosystem:
  • QCI has brought quality consciousness into the entire coal ecosystem and this initiative of QCI has been in the spirit of national service because it transformed the way the coal industry perceived quality.
  • Once QCI stepped in and started undertaking initiatives like third party sampling of coal, there was transformative improvement in quality in the sector.
• Collaboration with FCI:
  • Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) commitment to quality had resulted in better quality food grains reaching consumers who were mostly underprivileged.
  • The process of distribution of these food grains was now completely technologically enabled using biometrics and under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC), beneficiaries could pick up their food from anywhere in the nation.
• One District One Product (ODOP) Initiative:
  • QCI has also played an important role in the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative to encourage products from remote areas to find markets in India and abroad.
  • QCI had also contributed significantly in the GI tagging initiative and in completing the Swacch Surveykshan.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. With reference to ‘Quality Council of India (QCI)’, consider the following statements: (2017)

1. QCI was set up jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry.
2. Chairman of QCI is appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendations of the industry to the Government.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (c)

Source: PIB