PPID PROJECTS

Third Party Quality assessment of Coal
Quality Council of India (QCI) has undertaken 3rd Party Sampling, Testing and Analysis of coal supplied through special forward e-auction for power consumer/s and linkage auction for non-power consumer/s. Further, the scope of work has been extended to spot e auction/ special spot e auction/ Shakti Scheme.
  • Quality Council of India (QCI) has commenced third party sampling across all 8 subsidiaries of Coal India Limited (CIL).
  • Tripartite agreements of volume of 121 million metric tonne have been signed for conducting the third-party sampling, testing and analysis.
  • A total volume of 110.65 MMT of coal is already being sampled from date of commencement. QCI has already sampled 65.95 Million Metric Tonnes in F/Y 2018-19.
  • In order to ensure double blinding of Coal Sample, QCI has developed QR Code based application to capture collection, preparation across all loading points of Coal India Limited (CIL). The same has been already implemented across all subsidiaries.
  •  Also, QCI has extended its coal sampling assessment and carried out “Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Coal” for “Sembcorp Energy India Limited (SEIL)”.
SBM-ODF

For the MoHUA, QCI verified and certified 4041 cities and towns on the parameters of ODF, in line with the objective of making India ODF by 2019 as stated in the Swachh Bharat Mission. The project involved survey assessment of self-declared Urban Bodies through document verification and on-site inspection. This 2-part assessment was followed by declaration of the city as ODF and finally the awarding of the esteemed “Swachhta Certificate”. The project is still underway as the ULBs declared as ODF are revisited on a bi-annual basis to ensure that ULBs are vigilant and to avoid slippages.

Third Party Quality Assessment of Pulses and Oil Seeds

Food, being one of the basic things needs to have its reach to common man and also not to have any compromise on quality. National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) was setup in 1958 with the objective of benefiting the farmers (the main stakeholders) by promoting their agricultural produced at various levels. Ensuring food availability and stabilizing food prices through large scale interventions in the food grain sector has been an old tradition in India. 

Quality Council of India provides NAFED a mechanism for Third Party Quality Assessment which includes drawing and analysis of pulses and oil seeds during procurement at its various storage locations in the state of Rajasthan and Gujarat. 

Third Party Quality Assessment by Quality Council of India (QCI) provides NAFED with an independent, credible, and reliable result on the quality of pulses and oil seeds procured. The drawing of pulses and oil seeds samples is carried out while off-loading at various storage locations like depots of Central Warehousing Corporations/State Warehousing Corporations (CWCs/SWCs)/ Private warehouse of Rajasthan and Gujarat through personnel of NABCB accredited inspection bodies deployed by QCI. The testing of these samples are done on-site as per IS 14818: 2000 methodology.

QCI has worked on a customized dashboard and mobile application which includes features such as scanning of QR Code, capturing photographs and videos with geo-tag and time-stamp. QCI then delivers report of the analysis to NAFED allowing entry of stocks in the warehouses depending on the test results.

Quality council of India is dispensing a multi-level checking system before unloading the pulses and oil seeds at warehouses of Rajasthan and Gujarat for Quality assessment.

  • Quality council of India has deployed 77 Assessors for Quality assessment at various locations in Rajasthan and Gujarat
  • Quality council of India has covered across 20 districts and 147 warehouses of Rajasthan, Gujarat 
  • A total number of 13,344 trucks has been surveyed in both Rajasthan and Gujarat
  • A total number of 5547934 bags of food grain has been sampled during the procurement season out of which 95.48 % of bags accepted and 4.51% of bags rejected at warehouses of Rajasthan
  • A total number of 2137274 bags of food grain has been sampled during the procurement season out of which 98.61% of bags accepted and 1.38% of bags rejected at warehouses of Gujarat

The QCI project helps in saving Rs 41 crores for NAFED in the Kharif season 2018. The  sampling process inculcated by QCI is unique as for the first time, an Online Monitoring System for sampling and analysis process has been developed for NAFED with multi-level quality checks which has provided NAFED with an independent, credible, and reliable quality check system, monitoring each bag of the truck. This has eliminated the risk of acceptance of bad quality food grain which has forced the farmers and mandi people to strictly assure good quality of food grains which will get rejected otherwise.

(vii) Grievances arising out of discharge or dismissal of an employee

Citizen’s Charter (Extension)

QCI reviewed the current Citizen Charter of Ministry of External Affairs and went through each service that MEA provides and got to know that there is no single charter for the Ministry. We interacted with Passports division, OIA, OIA 2, CPV as well as PGOE division. After careful analysis of the charter, we removed certain services and added some relevant services. Also after much deliberation our recommendation was accepted to include Nodal officer name as well as contact details and Price, a citizen has to pay to avail a service along with forms required. Procedure to avail a service was also included in the new Charter

The new charter was launched by the Foreign Secretary and has been rolled out PAN India and is also available on External Affairs’s website. The new charter has provided citizens with much more information about MEA’s services and the grievances for MEA have gone down 

Statue of Unity

Statue Of Unity Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) awarded the contract for conducting high-end cleanliness assessments in and around the world’s tallest statue, Statue of Unity, in October 2018. QCI is conducting assessments at the location twice a month and provides a monthly report to TCGL briefing them about the cleanliness level at the location and areas of improvement, if any.

A location is assessed across three broad categories, namely:

  • Documentation
  • Direct Observation &
  • Public Feedback

There are 18 indicators across these categories which assess manpower deployment, dustbin availability and visibility, records of stock, burning and dumping of waste, swachhta related activities etc. Ranking of locations is done based on the final score and suggestions for improvement are provided to the respective agency. 

Google Toilet Locator

We are proudly working on this initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban, in which MoHUA has partnered with Google Maps to list all publicly accessible toilets across the country. The advantage of the listing on Google Maps is that the users can rate and provide rating and additional feedback of the facility. It can benefit MoHUA as well as local city administration by making general upkeep easier and complaint resolution faster

Monthly Cleanliness Assessment of 8 Yatradhams of Gujarat

Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board (GPYVB) engaged QCI in October 2017 to conduct monthly high-end cleanliness assessments of their famous eight yatradhams (Somnath, Dwarka, Ambaji, Dakor, Palitana, Girnaur, Shamlaji & Pavagarh) that attract highest tourist footfall in Gujarat. Each location is assessed once a month and a monthly report consisting of the performance scorecards, cleanliness indexes, analysis etc. is developed by the team to keep GPYVB informed of the work being done by the cleaning and monitoring agencies at these locations. With the first year of assessments completed and reports submitted to the GPYVB, the project was extended for another 6 months till March, 2019 to continue the work being done at the locations.

Gujarat Tourism

To carry out the assessment at 47 tourist locations, each location is assessed twice or thrice in a quarter for 1 or 2 days depending upon the tier-1 or tier-2 tourist locations and area as provided by TCGL respectively. Below given is the detailed process defined for carrying out the assessment at 47 tourist locations across Gujarat: 

Designing and development of framework for assessment, including parameter weightages and scoring methodology in consultation with TCGL.The Framework has been designed keeping in mind the three main categories: Documentation, Direct Observation and Public Feedback.

  • Conduct system reviews on continuous basis and suggest corrective actions.
  • Develop detailed scorecards to evaluate the performance of Cleaning Agencies and Monitoring Agencies at each location and furnish quarterly reports
  • Identify scope of improvement in the performance of the agencies and suggest recommendations to agencies for process improvement

Based on the assessment and evaluation of the cleanliness work,it was observed that the overall performance of all 4 Cleaning Agencies  and 2 Monitoring Agencies has been improved as compared with previous Quarters.

  • Monitoring agencies have started using Mobile Application instead of manual forms to capture data record on a daily basis 
  • Cleaning Agencies have have become much more aware and responsible  towards cleanliness, documentation, usage of cleaning equipment, uniforms etc.
  • Swachhata Awareness Activities have been conducted on a regular basis which has led to enhanced public awareness which in turn has played a  key role in achieving the goal of “Swachhata”. 
  • Increased employment of cleaning staff due to stringent tender requirements.
  • Enhanced availability of cleaning stock.
  • Presence of cleaning staff in proper uniform.
GeM (Government e Market Place)

GeM PMU is mandated to perform multiple activities as a Knowledge and Quality Partner to GeM to assure quality in the procurement of goods and services. PMU has created a mechanism to investigate the disputes/incidents between sellers/seller-buyer as a neutral body as per GeM’s requirement. PMU has coordinated and executed online/ offline collaboration with accredited Certification/ Regulatory bodies (BIS, ZED, PSARA, FSSAI, etc.) to ensure quality in procurement. Quality Check of Service Providers is a critical activity of PMU, wherein the quality of the service provider is checked by validation of the certification(s) & project experience of service providers to eliminate ingenuine and deceptive sellers/transactions in “Services” on the portal. It helps in drafting Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for various services available on the GeM Portal, especially in the identification the mandatory/ voluntary compliances. PMU is also responsible for validating the claims/ request of vendors, under the exemption category of vendor assessment (i.e. NSIC, DIC, BIS, ZED, CPSU/SPSU/Govt. societies) and conducts research on the compliance/certification requirements under both products and services as per the requirement and demand of GeM. PMU also facilitated Pre & Post-dispatch inspection service through inspection bodies accredited by NABCB (for all consumer related products) or approved by DGQA (for defense products). Suggestive solutions are provided to enhance the user experience on the portal after conducting root cause analysis in order to make interface robust and technologically equipped with minimal human intervention.

PMU provided investigation reports & suggestive solutions to GeM on special incident cases and has resolved 30 such cases till September 2019. After an intensive quality check on certifications and project experience of service providers, 29,814 service providers have been liquidated (till 25th September 2019), with 21,211 (71%) being approved while 8603 (29%) were rejected on the basis of wrong/expired/incomplete compliance certificates and/or public project experience.1565 cases have been validated under Vendor Assessment Exemption and 64% vendors have been exempted whereas 36% failed (till 25th September 2019). PMU has coordinated and executed online/ offline collaboration with accredited certification/ regulatory bodies and facilitated API of BIS, FSSAI and ZED to check the license/certification details of a vendor on a real-time basis with minimal human intervention. Identified and drafted SLAs for the following 8 services: Car Rental, HR Services, Florist Services, Security Services, Scanning and Digitization Services, Healthcare Services (Laundry, Security, Sanitation Maintenance), Spot Hiring (Car Rental and Taxi Services) and Pest Control Services. GeM is in process of implementing the PMU’s objective solutions (like more medium of awareness, dashboard, IVR system, etc.) to enhance the user experience. 

Performance Rating of Concession, Contractors & Consultants (MoRTH)

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways engaged Quality Council of India to prepare a robust and objective assessment framework. In order to formulate the performance rating framework and methodology, extensive research was conducted. Codes and standards were studied, international performance rating models were reviewed and sector experts were consulted. QCI developed a performance-based rating mechanism for key vendors engaged in the highway development process. Customized rating frameworks were developed according to different modes of implementation and stage of progress. The frameworks provide a holistic assessment of vendor performance and evaluate vendors on parameters like quality of construction, timely submission of progress reports and audit reports, adherence to guidelines and IRC codes, compliance with industry standards and specifications and overall process management. The vendors are required to submit documentary evidence in support of their claims. Information was also corroborated with supporting vendors.

In order to test the efficacy of the frameworks, a two-phased pilot was conducted on 20 national highway projects. The results of the pilot, challenges faced and our recommendations were discussed in detail in a meeting under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Secretary. Our recommendations were primarily concerned with improving data management protocols, standardization of data and removing process bottlenecks. We also presented a rollout model to scale the performance rating process to cover all national highway projects in India. In addition to this, QCI designed a framework for incorporating performance rating in future bids. In such a way, the quality of past performance will play a key role in the award of future contracts. The framework for incorporation of performance rating was also reviewed in a separate meeting.


A robust performance rating system can ensure high quality output and timely completion of projects. According to the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, 74 highway projects face significant time overrun and 43  highway projects face significant cost overrun. An objective and robust performance rating system can ensure that highway construction vendors adhere to timelines and desired quality standards.

In this way, an objective assessment of all projects is carried out. This would result in overall improvement of quality of road infrastructure and vendor performance can be benchmarked against each other. Corrective actions may be taken in case of poor performance. Moreover, significant steps have been taken in direction of proper data management and standardization of reporting documents. 

Ranking of Police Station 2018

It has long been recognized that effective policing is fundamental to a safe and secure society which is the bedrock of economic and social progress. Improving the efficiency and performance of the Police force is important because it is the basis of Good Governance.

In 2015, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi directed during his address to the DsGP Conference in Kutch, Gujarat to lay down parameters for grading of Police Stations on their performance as well as citizen feedback. Accordingly, a framework was formulated by the Quality Council of India with the approval of the Hon’ble Home Minister to identify and recognize the ten best police stations of the country and also the best police station in a particular state or Union Territory.

The Police Modernization Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs shortlisted the police stations from all over India for the survey. The criteria for choosing the best police stations in the country was primarily their performance in crime prevention, investigation and disposal of cases, crime detection, community policing and maintenance of law and order. 

A detailed methodology for the survey was prepared by incorporating assessment of performance in controlling crime, infrastructure and citizen feedback. The data and responses of the survey were taken on a customized tech application with geo- tagged and time stamped photographs, ensuring accuracy of the survey which were analyzed along with data of the performance for the final evaluation. Weightage of 20% was given to the infrastructure of the police stations and the citizen feedback of the performance of the Police personnel in each Police Station. 

The purpose of conducting this survey year after year is to establish a system for performance measurement and additionally to inculcate the habit to utilize and maintain the data on CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System) regularly by all police stations. 

The on-ground survey was conducted from 19th November 2018 to 10th December 2018 covering 87 police stations all across India. Kalu Police Station in Bikaner, Rajasthan topped the list whereas Campbell Bay Police Station in Nicobar, A&N Islands took the second spot and Farakka Police Station in Murshidabad, West Bengal grabbed third position.

This result is a reflection of the performance measurement and the on-ground assessment of the police stations for the year 2018. All the States and UTs participated and the number of police stations covered during on-ground survey increased from 59 (in 2017 survey) to 87 in 2018 survey.

National Highways Awards for Excellence 2018 (MoRTH)

Developing road infrastructure in the country has been a top priority of the government. Today at present, India is constructing 26.9 kilometers per day (FY 2017-18). Building on this vision to further strengthen highway infrastructure in the country, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari launched Annual Awards for National Highway Projects on 6th August 2018. This was an initiative to recognise companies which performed exceptionally and delivered finest quality services during the construction, operations, maintenance and tolling stage of highway development. MoRTH in association with Quality Council of India (QCI) developed a rigorous assessment framework and process roadmap to identify and award the best performing companies in the highway development sector.

The awards were designed across five categories, recognizing excellence in Construction Management, Operation and Maintenance, Toll Plaza Management, Highway Safety and Innovation. These awards were further customised based on the mode of implementation, terrain and construction technique. Under these categories, the projects were assessed on objective and quantifiable parameters.

The assessment process was modelled on best international and national awards programs in the construction sector, insights from sector experts such as MoRTH and NHAI Officials, industry leaders and academicians, and detailed review of the official codes & guidelines. Applicants were invited to nominate themselves on an online application portal designed by NIC. Over 107 nominations were received across five categories in the one-month long nomination period. For every nominated project, the companies submitted a unique application with supporting documents. This was followed by two rigorous rounds of assessment: desktop and on-site. In the first round, 84 valid applications were scrutinised between September 24th to October 7th 2018, by officials from MoRTH, NHAI, NHIDCL and QCI to check the validity and propriety of the information submitted by the applicant. Documentary evidence was checked to validate the performance and compliance levels.

Following this, a unique score was assigned to each nominated project to draw up the first shortlist of 57 projects. The Screening Committee reviewed the assessment process and approved the shortlisted projects in each award category. In the second round, an on-site assessment was conducted between October 25th to November 17th 2018, at project-sites across India by trained assessors and professionals of QCI. The purpose was to corroborate submitted data and evaluate performance indicators for on-ground reality. A standardised operation procedure was developed for each award category which included travelling across the length of the highway checking various parameters, surveying toll plazas and conducting interviews with project heads and key officials. A cellular device, app-based technical platform was used to conduct the field survey where geotagged and time stamped photographic evidence was collected for each parameter. This data was checked in real-time by the central team of QCI on the back-end of the platform. The findings on the field were used to corroborate scores assigned to each project. Final scores were computed to shortlist the top 36 projects. These results were validated by the Screening Committee.

A special three member, independent Jury Committee, comprising of Shri. Jagdish Khattar, Shri. AV Sinha, and Shri. LK Joshi was constituted to deliberate upon the selection of final winners. Through this selection process, MoRTH has found some exceptionally well-constructed and managed highway projects in a wide range of locations and geographies. Stakeholders across the board, ranging from ROs, PIUs, Concessionaires, Contractors and Supervision Consultants went the extra mile to make the efforts requisite to bring the idea of the annual awards program into fruition. The Awards for Excellence programme shall continue to highlight the significant strides made in construction, operation, management and innovation in highways projects across India for the years to come.

PADD PROJECTS

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.  Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Sytems (Drones)

Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a mechanism for cooperation with Quality Council of India to develop and operate Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CSUAS) as per the applicable rules, regulation, and procedures from time to time. The process ensures that the UAS meets applicable regulatory requirements and secure international equivalence. 

Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CSUAS) enhance the competitiveness of Indian industry by underlining the need for conformity assessment framework built on parameters like quality, reliability & safety of drones which was gazette notified by Ministry of Civil Aviation on 26th January 2022, in line with Drone Rules 2021 issued by Government of India.

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. 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

Media Coverage​

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):

  • With the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the UN Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS).
  • The United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) is a joint initiative of five UN agencies (FAO, ITC, UNCTAD, UNEP and UNIDO).
  • In concurrence with the outcome of Standards Conclaves organized in 2014 and 2015, UNFSS and Quality Council of India (QCI) joined hands for setting up the India National Platform on Private Sustainability Standards (PSS).
  • The India National Platform on Private Sustainability Standards (hereafter, the Indian PSS Platform) is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the world for addressing PSS issues in a national context.
  • The Platform is multi-stakeholder in nature and includes members of the Government, statutory agencies, Export Promotion Councils, commodity boards, industry associations, industries, producers, and consumers.
  • Promotional programmes on quality – awareness programmes on ISO standards, quality tools and techniques, building quality culture
  • A survey / study on identification of priority product groups for developing sustainability standards
  • World’s 1st Private Sustainability Std Platform, estd. with M/o Commerce & UN. Organized the International Convention on Sustainable Trade and Standards (ICSTS) in collaboration with the United Nations and Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Participation of 390+ delegates, 72 speakers and representation of across 40 countries, 8 UN agencies, with an overall outreach to 8000+ stakeholders.
  • QCI represented the Platform at the UNCTAD, T4SD of the ITC, UN, and at the National Stakeholder meetings in China, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Philippines showcasing the activities undertaken in the sustainability studies.

HIGHLIGHTS: Tackles issues arising from private sustainability standards, Works with 9 international partners.

9. National Interpretation for GLOBALG.A.P.:

  • GLOBALG.A.P., owner of global standard for the certification of agricultural produce, and QCI entered into a MoU in May 2008. QCI constituted a National Technical Working Group (NTWG) – a mechanism to internalise local practices.
  • The national interpretation (NI) guidelines of India for Version 5.3 of GLOBALG.A.P. was accepted by the Technical Committee of GLOBALG.A.P. which is meant to benefit over 10,000 farmers in exports.
  • GRASP (Social Standard of GLOBALG.A.P.) NI documentation too approved by 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 improveme

11. Benchmarking IndGAP to GLOBALG.A.P.:

  • The promotion and marketing of IndGAP is undertaken with close engagement with the stakeholders – principally DoC, APEDA and Spices Board.
  • QCI has signed an MoU with APEDA for funding the Benchmarking proposal of IndGAP with GLOBALG.A.P.
  • GLOBALG.A.P. is a globally recognized Scheme that has a set of standards for good agricultural practices (G.A.P.). The standards ensure greater efficiency in production, improves business performance, and benefits farmers, retailers, and consumers throughout the world.
  • APEDA has granted QCI (PADD) a project for benchmarking IndGAP to GLOBALG.A.P.
  • Benchmarking would result in improvement in quality of produce, awareness regarding good agricultural practices and in reduction in the transaction cost for exports.

12. Implementation of IndGAP Project for strengthening quality and safety in the spices sector:

  • Spices Board (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India) is the flagship organization for the development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices.
  • MoU with the Spices Board has been signed for approval for implementing IndGAP project in the spices sector.
  • Spices Board has granted QCI (PADD) a project for implementation of IndGAP for carrying out promotion and marketing of the IndGAP Scheme
  • Project certification in IndGAP for spices would result in overall improvement of quality of produce, awareness regarding good agricultural practice and reduction in the transaction cost for exports.

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:

  • The Honorable Prime Minister had desired to spread India’s traditional knowledge worldwide with credible systems with specific reference to Yoga that should provide India leadership in assuring quality of Yoga practices across the world.  The Ministry of AYUSH in pursuance of the above and in the wake of declaration of International Yoga Day, identified Quality Council of India (QCI) to develop a Scheme for Voluntary Certification of Yoga Professionals recognizing that QCI has expertise in developing such quality frameworks based on international best practices.
  • QCI designed the Scheme for Voluntary certification of Yoga Professional by adopting the principles and requirements laid down in the international standard that was presented to the Ministry of AYUSH and was launched on 22 June 2015.
  • The scheme has been handed over to Ministry of AYUSH after successful grounding by QCI.

17. Quality Intervention by Certification of Yoga School in Popularizing and Marketing of Yoga by the Quality Council of India:

  • After having operated the Yoga Professionals’ Certification Scheme since June, 2015, the Steering Committee decided to launch the scheme for certification of Yoga Schools.  The Scheme was launched on the 28 March 2016.
  • The Scheme was designed and developed in consultation with the country’s top yoga experts from some of the oldest yoga institutions – such as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, Dr H. R. Nagendra, Prime Minister’s Yoga Guru, Sri O P Tiwari  of Kaivalyadham,  Hansaji of Yoga Institute, representatives of Sivananda school, Isha Foundation, and  Art of Living, and inputs from other organisations.
  • The scheme has been handed over to Ministry of AYUSH after successful grounding by QCI.

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.

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