Lok Sabha Question No. 6269 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-02
Subject: Impact of Quality Control Orders on MSMEs
Ministry: MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Asked by: Shri Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, Shri Prabhakar Reddy Vemireddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.6269 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.04.2026

## IMPACT OF QUALITY CONTROL ORDERS ON MSMEs

## 6269.   SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY: SHRI PRABHAKAR REDDY VEMIREDDY:

Will the Minister of MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has engaged in consultations or interactions with industry bodies, Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (MSMEs)  associations  and  other  stakeholders  to  address concerns arising from delays and compliance challenges in the implementation of Quality Control Orders (QCOs) and the outcomes of such engagements;
- (b) the details of the steps undertaken to expand and upgrade accredited testing and certification infrastructure, align Indian standards with international norms and reduce certification timelines and costs;
- (c) the details of the funds allocated, released and utilised for strengthening the implementation and enforcement of QCOs across the country, State-wise; and
- (d) whether the Government has undertaken measures including simplification or rationalisation of  QCOs  to  encourage  greater  MSME  participation,  attract  investments  and  prevent  unintended adverse impacts on supply chains and consumer prices and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a)  to  (d):      The  Government  of  India  through  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards  (BIS),  Department  of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumers Affairs, Food & Pubic Distribution implements, phasewise, Quality Control Orders (QCOs) issued by the line Ministries with exemptions / relaxations for Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (MSMEs),  to  ensure  that  QCOs  do  not  disrupt  domestic production.  Before,  notifying  the  QCOs  by  the  line  Ministry  consultation  with  Stakeholders including various Industry Associations, MSME Associations is carried out. The Ministry of MSME actively  takes  up  concerns  of  MSMEs  with  Ministries/Departments  concerned  and  BIS  to  ensure ease of implementation and compliance.

BIS  has  informed  that  the  Testing  infrastructure  has  been  expanded  through  BIS  and  its recognized  laboratories,  and  over  93%  standards  have  been  harmonized  with  ISO/IEC  norms wherever the corresponding standards exist.

To  support  MSMEs  by  strengthening  testing  capabilities  and  supporting  the  effective implementation  of  QCOs,  BIS  and  National  Test  House  (NTH)  have  improved  accessibility  of laboratories, simplified certification procedures, automated renewals, fee concessions, relaxation of in-house laboratory requirements etc.and supporting overall ease of doing business. These measures helped  in  reduction  of  timelines  and  compliance  costs.  No  separate  or  dedicated  funds  for  QCO implementation  have  been  allocated.  Some  of  the  Financial  and  Technical  relaxations  being provided to MSMEs are as follows:

-  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 MSME units.
-  Erstwhile  mandatory  requirement  of  in-house  laboratory  has  been  relaxed  and  for  all manufacturers especially MSME 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 already 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 also 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.
-  BIS issues product manuals as guidance documents for conformity assessment as per various Indian Standards. These product manuals also incorporate Scheme of Inspection and Testing (SIT)  specifying  controls  and  checks  to  be  exercised  by  the  manufacturer.  The  'Levels  of Control'  given  in  the  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.
-  Targeted  awareness  and  training  programmes  namely  (i)  Manak  Samvaad  (ii)  Manak Manthan  and  (iii)  Capsule  courses  for  the  industry  at  localised  level  with  sector  specific focus have also been initiated by BIS focusing on Standards, measures to implement them and obtain BIS certification.
-  In addition; to strengthen the testing infrastructure, National Test House (NTH) is offering a blanket discount of 15% on testing fees to all registered MSME customers across all NTH laboratories nationwide.

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