The 5th National Quality Conclave, on ?Leveraging Quality for Good Governance? organized by Quality Council of India, (QCI), concluded amidst huge applause from all present, with the conclave closure address by Dr. Girdhar J. Gyani, Secretary General, QCI wherein he announced that all members who participated in conclave automatically became members of Quality Council of India. This year as issues related to governance were at the centre stage the council selected ?Leveraging Quality for Good Governance? as the theme for the 5th National Quality Conclave.

The objective of the two day Conclave was to provide a forum for sharing new ideas, deliberating on issues, challenges and the road ahead that would attempt to change the quality of life of the average Indian. Surrounding this theme the Conclave discussed a range of quality issues related to governance. The conclave brought into sharp focus innovative services, programs and practices to support quality initiatives for good governance. The conclave was addressed by many reputed speakers both from India and abroad .In addition to the opening and closing session the 5th National Quality Conclave had nine sessions and was attended by 1000 delegates.

The highlight of the conclave was the announcement of QCI ?Dl Shah Award on Economics of Quality, Launch of Professional membership scheme of QCI and Prof Masaaki Imai, Chairman, Kaizan Institute International, Japan becoming the first fellow of Quality Council of India.

At the inaugural session of the conclave Shri Arun Maira honorable member Planning Commission gave away NABET Accreditation Certificates to Navyug School,Tilak Marg, New Delhi, Navyug School, Mandir Marg,New Delhi, Navyug School Jor Bagh ,New Delhi. This apart three hospitals namely Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon, Haryana, Sparsh Hospital for Accidents, Orthopedics, Plastic & Maxillo Surgery, Bangalore, Karnataka and Apollo Specialty Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu were also felicitated with Certificate of NABH accreditation, at the Conclave by Shri Maira .

The prestigious QCI-DL Shah National awards on Economics of Quality were given away by Prof Masaaki Imai, Chairman, Kaizan Institute International, Japan.The awards were given under three different categories namely Public Sector Enterprises, Large Manufacturing Units and Large Services organizations.

The conclave honored Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) with the prestigious QCI- DL Shah National Award for ?Improvement of catering service through sustainable cost effective approach?, And NTPC Vindhyachal received the QCI- DL Shah Commendation Award for ?Performance optimization of condenser vacuum in Unit # 10 of Stage # 3?.

In the Large Manufacturing category JCB India was honored with the prestigious QCI- DL Shah National Award for the project ?A systematic approach for reduction in warranty cost and improving customer satisfaction? and Essar Steel Limited received the QCI- DL Shah Commendation Award for ?Improvement in availability of hot DRI vessel?

In the Large Service category HCL Technology: BPO Services bagged the prestigious QCI- DL Shah National Award for ?Operational Excellence with a human face?. Reliance Consumer Finance received the QCI- DL Shah Commendation Award for ?Process re-engineering from login to decision and setting up common credit processing? (CPA)?,Capgemini Business Services (I) Ltd. received the the QCI- DL Shah Commendation Award for ?Adhiktama?- ?delivering at optimum level? and Bharti Airtel Ltd received the the QCI- DL Shah Commendation Award for the project ?Evolution Beyond Excellence ?.

Certificate of Appreciation was awarded to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of Gujarat for establishing Quality Assurance framework in providing quality healthcare to the people of Gujarat.The Certificate of Appreciation was handed over to Dr.Amarjeet Sinha(IAS) former health Commissioner Government of Gujarat and Dr.J.L. Meena State Quality Assurance officer, by Dr. P.K. Dave former Director of AIIMS and Dr.Giridhar J Gyani, Secretary General Quality Council of India.

Government of Gujarat is the first state in the country to initiate quality assurance program in their district hospitals, Medical College Hospitals, Laboratories, Blood Bank, and PHCs and CHCs. Two District Hospitals and two PHCs were awarded accreditation in 2009-2010. Dr.Y.P.Bhatia also received the ?Quality Champion Award? for his contribution in the field of Health Care.

The theme session on the topic of ?Effective Governance ?Judiciary and Policing.?was addressed by Honorable Union Minister for Law and Justice Dr. M. Veerappa Moily . Shri Moily said that Judiciary in India enjoys a very significant position since it has been made the guardian and custodian of the Constitution. Shri Moily in his speech linked good governance to an enabling environment conducive to the enjoyment of human rights and promoting growth and sustainable human development.

Shri Moily informed that in addition to the judiciary, another institution which plays an equally or perhaps an even more important role in implementation of good governance standards is the police. However, it has been seen that when discussing the inputs for good governance in any society, the police is not generally prominent or even important. No serious search has been made as to why the police and their functions are usually relegated when it is widely accepted that no development is possible without order and the fruits of development would not reach the intended beneficiaries in the absence of order, the Minister said. He also highlighted the ?Rule of Law ?as one of the most significant characteristics of Good Governance.

Regretting the continuance of the colonial police system in the country, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily advocated a revamp of the entire structure in keeping with the changing times .The minister said at the time of independence, the founding fathers laid emphasis on continuity and change rather than on departure from the past and “demolishing the existing administrative structure.”He said it was a “mistake” to continue with the colonial police system and efforts are now being made to change it in accordance with present needs.

The Minister informed that even in our country, some enterprising police officers have introduced and implemented the ISO 9001-2000 QMS in the functioning of police stations ? the primary unit of delivery of police service to the people. Even though this successful experiment has still been limited to very few jurisdictions, it has proved the applicability and practicability of Quality Management Systems in organization of the justice delivery system. Shri Moily said that it is thus essential that all the institutions of the Government- and the judiciary and police most prominent amongst them- must pool their energies to force a good governance for the country. Only such a collective will can devolve truly good governance for the country.

Some of the prominent speakers who attended and addressed the 5th National Quality Conclave were Mr. K.K. Nohria,Chairman, National Board for Quality Promotion, Dr. J.J. Irani, Director, Tata Sons, Mr. Kamal Kumar, Former Director, National Police Academy, Prof. N.R. Madhava Menon, Founder Director, National Law School, Bangalore & Founder Director, Nation Judicial Academy, Bhopal, Prof. Anil B. Suraj, Prof. Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Dr. P.K. Dave, Chairman, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & ABH, Mr. Vijay K. Thadani, Chairman, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET), Dr. Hari Gopal, Director, NABL, Mr. Sharda Prasad, Director General, Employment and Training, Ministry of Labour & Employment , Mr. Vineet Chawdhry, IAS, Joint Secretary, Dept. of Health & Family Welfare.

International quality expert Prof. Masaaki Imai addressed Plenary session I, which was a technical sessions on Quality Governance and focused on issues like Empowerment through Participation ? the Kaizen Route by Prof. Masaaki Imai, Plenary Session II focused on Perspectives on Global Personnel Certification Scheme by Dr. Roy Swift, American National Standard Institute and The Emerging Nature of Quality Professionals by Dr. Greg Weiler, International Quality Expert. Plenary session III focused on Presentation of QCI-D.L. Shah Award winning Case Studies in Public Sector, Large Manufacturing and Services categories.

In alignment with the Conclave?s theme, Dr.Girdhar J Gyani, Secretary General, Quality Council of India, observed, ?We all know that effective regulatory quality has positive co-relation with good governance, QCI has been closely working with the government, its institutions and with the regulatory bodies, by way of providing framework for evaluation of competence of various types of organization, those responsible for providing services to the citizens. The conclave highlighted some of these initiatives.? Dr Gyani further added ?We have achieved global benchmarks in some of the key manufacturing sectors. This experience needs to be channelized in the other sectors. QCI has taken up this role in three vital areas i.e. government (public services), health & education. The conclave had exclusive sessions focusing on these sectors. QCI also launched professional membership scheme at the conclave, which would provide to join hands in making nationwide quality a reality i.e. ?Quality for National Well Being?

The valedictory address was delivered by Shri Gurcharan Das, eminent writer and thought leader on the topic ?The difficulty of being good- Subtle art of Dharma?. From every standpoint and angle 5thNational Quality Conclave, on ?Leveraging Quality for Good Governance? was a success.

Quality Council of India is today engaged in the endeavor of transforming all individual organizations into centers of excellence, be it manufacturing industry, hospitals, educational institutions, or a public service establishment. The Quality Council of India in its own way is facilitating different ministries /departments /regulators, both at the Centre as well as at the State level, to make use of conformity assessment structure, where appropriate. These initiatives are aimed at enabling government/regulators to deliver public services based on transparency, objectivity and competency, thereby assuring citizens of quality services /governance.