Lok Sabha Question No. 2859 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Assistance to MSMEs
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Chintamani Maharaj

## Government of India

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2859 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2025

## ASSISTANCE TO MSMES

## 2859.  SHRI CHINTAMANI MAHARAJ:

(OIH)

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has launched any special initiatives or schemes to assist the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in obtaining BIS certification;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  such  initiatives  taken/schemes  implemented  including  fee  concessions, simplified procedures and awareness campaigns during the last three years; and
- (c) whether  the  BIS  has  made  any  direct  communication  or  taken  any  engagement  initiative  to encourage the MSMEs to adopt quality standards?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## (SHRI B.L. VERMA)

(a) & (b)    :    To support MSMEs, financial incentives are provided by BIS in annual minimum marking fee with concession of 80% (for Micro scale units), 50% (Small scale units) and 20% (Medium scale units). An additional concession of 10% is also provided to units which are either located in north-east areas or women entrepreneur led MSME units.

The  'Levels  of  Control'  given  in  the  Schemes  of  Inspection  and  Testing  (SIT)  are  made recommendatory in nature. The manufacturer has the choice to define their own control unit/batch/lot and their own Levels of Control and inform the BIS. Also the requirement of maintaining in-house laboratory has been made optional for MSME units. MSME units are allowed to utilize the services of outside BIS recognized laboratories, NABL accredited labs or even sharing of resources like cluster based labs or laboratories of other manufacturing units.

For Domestic Manufacturers, Operations of product certification activities and processes involved across  all  the  Branch  Offices  (BOs)  in  the  country  have  been  digitised.  An  Online  platform  'Manak online' is available for product certification activities right from the stage of submission of application to award  of  certification  including  all  communications,  payment,  queries  through  the  portal  itself.  The renewal of certifications has been made automatic without any human intervention. The manufacturer can simply submit the renewal application at his convenience and after the online submission, the renewal endorsement gets generated, extending the validity of certification.

- (c) : Targeted awareness and training programs for the industry at localised level with sector specific  focus  have  been  initiated  by  BIS  focusing  on  Standards,  measures  to  implement  them  and obtaining BIS certification

Manak Samvaad dialogue with certified manufacturers has been initiated by BIS to impart orientation and integrate them into the quality ecosystem.

BIS  has  strengthened its  engagement with  stakeholders at  the  grass  root  level  including  local manufacturers, especially MSMEs to bridge the gap between standards development and their practical implementation. Besides creating avenues for feedback at the draft stage of Standards development, BIS through 'Manak Manthan' also engages at the stage of formulation of new  standards and revision of existing standards.

Further, product specific training courses known as capsule courses are conducted by BIS across the country. These are short term courses of 1-2 days customized to cater to the specific product of interest to the Industry, focusing on the requirements of the concerned Indian Standard. These courses are offered free of charge to the MSMEs for further encouraging the adoption of quality standards.