1. Voluntary Certification Scheme for Products with Geographical Indication:
Geographical Indication (GI) Goods are part of our collective and intellectual heritage of a country that need to be protected and promoted. PADD had submitted a complete Scheme document comprising 15 GI Products as a pilot to the Dept. for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry for promoting the uptake of GI products that are either agri-commodities or manufactured items.
Some of the GI goods covered are Nashik Grapes, Nagpur Oranges, Banglar Rosogolla, Kangra Tea, Kashmir Pashmina, Salem Fabric, Varanasi Gulabi Minakari, Bastar Dhokra, etc.
HIGHLIGHTS: Scheme for Certification of 15 Products with GI in Agriculture, Food and Textiles (Handicrafts) sectors.
2. GLP Cell – National GLP Compliance and Monitoring Authority (NGCMA)
National Good Laboratory Practices Compliance Monitoring Authority (NGCMA) entered into a MoU with the Quality Council of India on 31 Dec. 2013 for the effective implementation of Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) certification programme. The National GLP Compliance Monitoring Authority (NGCMA) has been established by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India to fulfil India’s obligations in this field. For more details, you may visit: https://dst.gov.in/ngcma
The PADD assists the GLP program of the NGCMA. Apart from giving them the operational support, PAD Division has undertaken an Impact Analysis of the National GLP Program, India which has been appreciated by Secretary DST and Head, NGCMA.
Additionally to fast track the operationalisation of the India GLP Program, an entire new web portal has been designed and implemented to receive all the applications digitally and process it to a stage where the recommendations are placed to the Technical Committee.
In order to have error-free coordination, mechanisms such as Regular Joint Coordination Committee meetings and Technical Committee meetings are convened to address issues of all the stakeholders. A series of sensitization workshops amongst the test facilities, government research institutions, and academia are held periodically
3. RPAS - Voluntary Certification Scheme for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Drones):
With Directorate General of Civil Aviation
QCI has launched the Certification Scheme for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) duly approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation, the regulator for RPAS on 17th September 2020.
The Scheme has been developed as per the technical requirements laid out in the DGCA RPAS Guidance Manual and the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3 Series X Part I Issue I. The certification ensures that the RPAS adheres to the requirements as per the certification criteria of the RPAS Certification Scheme.
The Scheme becomes a prerequisite for any RPAS to obtain license/approval from the DGCA. This involves testing of the hardware and the software embedded to ascertain the safety, security and compliance to No Permission and No Take Off (NPNT) during its flight.
HIGHLIGHTS: Regulation + requirements for approval of drones for civilian use. 8 pilots underway for grounding the RPAS Scheme
4. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR):
QCI was entrusted upon by NCPCR to empanel social audit agencies to ascertain child labour in Indian industry and supply chain. The empanelled audit agencies in turn will be conducting independent assessment studies pertaining to sectors, industries, premises that are prone to child labour in order to establish facts and to mitigate any non-compliance found during the assessment studies. This will ensure the well-being and compliance to all the established norms with respect to protection of child rights in the country..png)
The NCPCR being the part of Government is committed to bring the economy back on track by not only ensuring compliance with respect to protection of child rights but also proactively taking up monitoring of vulnerable sectors.
Letters to the Industry/ Commodity Boards/ Export Promotion Councils
5. Global Timber Forum – Association Survey for Knowledge:
A study was conducted for the Global Timber Forum (GTF) in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Resources Institute (WRI) to understand the wood-based industry. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 associations in the wood-based industry to understand the challenges and gaps in the industry in India.
6. International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Japan:
ITTO, a Japan-based intergovernmental agency, approached QCI to conduct a pan-India perception survey focused on the furniture industry. The activity involved interaction with government and private associations to understand the current ecosystem for enhancing furniture exports.
This is a study to understand on the furniture industry specifically made of wood and those that are categorized as wooden handicraft furniture.
The focus is on associations, clusters and consortiums involved in products made of wood raw materials, including logs, sawnwood, mouldings, veneer and plywood specifically covering manufacturing and retailing, and joinery and engineered wood products.
The envisaged outcomes would address issues prevailing in the distribution channels and factors affecting competitiveness in this industry including the raw material importers that gives an enhanced insight on trading relationships.
7. Capacity Building cum Sensitization (CB & S) for Voluntary Certification Scheme for Medicinal Plant Produce (VCSMPP):
The National Medicinal Plant Board, Ministry of AYUSH granted QCI the CB&S project for the marketing and promotion of the VCSMPP Scheme. Till date we have compiled 40 Package of Practices, conducted over 30 sensitisation workshops and presented the Scheme to the SAARC Agriculture Secretariat of the SAARC for considering its acceptance.
The scheme was translated in 12 languages and is available on the QCI website. The 12 languages are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Mizo, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.
8. UNFSS - India National Platform on Private Sustainability Standards (INPPSS):
HIGHLIGHTS: Tackles issues arising from private sustainability standards, Works with 9 international partners.
9. National Interpretation for GLOBALG.A.P.:
10. Sustainable Development Goals Mapping and Analysis Program (SDG MAP)
Initiated the 'Sustainable Development Goals Mapping and Analysis Programme' (SDG MAP) which aims at organisations - public and private, and standards (with special focus on voluntary/private sustainability standards). The mapping of the UN SDGs to the standard translates the SDGs and the relevant targets under those SDGs into specific business actions applicable for the company by providing justification of the SDGs mapped.
The focus is also on identifying priority SDGs that are most relevant to the standard and the company and where there is greatest potential for impact. Thereafter, an impact study is carried out to understand and quantify the impact.
PAD Division has completed SDG Mapping of VRIKSH Standard of the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) and of Trinitea Framework of Solidaridad and ITA by studying the on-ground impact. QCI also submitted the impact study of the VRIKSH standard, bringing forth areas of opportunity and improvement.
11. Benchmarking IndGAP to GLOBALG.A.P.:
12. Implementation of IndGAP Project for strengthening quality and safety in the spices sector:
13. Study of Voluntary Consumer Organizations (VCOs) in India with Special Focus to Rural Areas and their benchmarking to enhance capacities.
14. FAO SAARC GAP- Development of Standards and Scheme for Good Agriculture practice (GAP) implementation and certification in countries of SAARC:
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN identified QCI as their technical partner for developing a quality infrastructure on Good Agriculture Practice for all the SAARC member countries. The project was for “Development of Standards and Scheme for Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) Implementation and Certification in countries of SAARC”. The Scheme designed and developed by QCI was accepted and implemented in some select SAARC countries with the assistance of FAO of the UN. The SAARC Agriculture Center (SAC) has taken forward this initiative for improving the food hygiene and safety in the region.
The entire Scheme documents comprising technical GAP Standard, the Certification Body criteria, Certification Process and Accreditation / Approval criteria were presented and approved at the concluding workshop organized by FAO.
15. Regional Training SAC Training (SAARC GAP):
The SAARC Agriculture Centre approached QCI with a request to conduct SAARC Good Agricultural Practices training for all the SAARC member countries. The SAC aims to engage the Agriculture Ministry of each of the member countries for adaptation or adoption of the SAARC GAP.
A regional training workshop was organized by SAC on SAARC GAP from August 27-30, 2019 for exploring the above with the member countries. Dr. S. K. Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner, GoI was the chief guest of the event.
16. Promotion of Scheme for Evaluation and Certification of YOGA Professionals in Popularizing and Marketing of Yoga:
17. Quality Intervention by Certification of Yoga School in Popularizing and Marketing of Yoga by the Quality Council of India:
18. International Crops Research Institute for The Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT):
MoU has been signed with ICRISAT for design and development of certification Scheme on ‘Smart Food’ by Dr. Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General and Dr. Ravi P. Singh, SG, QCI.
19. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
The UNDP has approached QCI to help them with the design and development of Scheme for Access and Benefit Sharing as per the National Biodiversity Act 2002.
