India has been ranked as the fifth-best country in the world when it comes to its accreditation system according to recently released Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021. The ranking is based on the 184 economies’ infrastructure quality. The country’s overall ranking is still 10th in the GQII index.
In terms of metrology and standardization, India was ranked 21st and ninth, respectively, in the world. The report was released in December 2022.
The Quality Council of India (QCI) stated that it is proud to be acknowledged as one of the world’s top five accreditation systems. It noted that it would help pave the way for collaborations that aim to improve the quality of infrastructure.
According to the report, the top 25 countries in the world are mainly located in Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe. Some of these include India, Australia, Turkey, and Brazil.
The QCI is the body that handles accreditation in India. However, the Bureau of Indian Standards is responsible for developing standards and on the other hand managing the country’s metrology system is done by the Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research – National Physical Laboratory (CSIR–NPL).
India’s accreditation system is the youngest among the three QI pillars in India, and we have jumped to global fifth within a year in these rankings,” said Jaxay Shah, Chairperson, of QCI.
Quality Infrastructure is a vital component of the international trade community. It provides various services such as conformity assessment and metrology, which help ensure the safety and reliability between trading partners.
The accreditation system of India is carried out through the various constituent boards of the QCI. These boards are responsible for providing accreditation to various organizations such as certification bodies, validation and inspection bodies, and testing and calibration laboratories.
The methodology of the GQII rankings takes into account the data collected from various sources during the year. The 2021 rankings are based on data collected till the end of December 2021 and analysed through 2022.
This initiative is supported by various organizations such as Germany’s BMZ and the PTB. It aims to promote standardization, metrology, and related services.