Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said that services to consumers should be of standard level. Shri Paswan said that all efforts should be made to provide facilities to consumers. Shri Paswan said that BIS must ensure to use world’s best technology at their laboratories to provide international standards. Shri Paswan stated it while chairing the first meeting of the Governing Council of Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS), in New Delhi today. It was the first meeting of the Governing Council after enforcement of the new BIS Act 2016. Shri Paswan mentioned that the new BIS Act passed by the Parliament has been implemented with effect from 12 October 2017. This act has provisions for safeguarding the interests of consumers. The new Act casts an obligation not only on manufacturers but also on the players in the distribution chain regarding the quality of products. The Minister further added that the new Act also enables the Government to make Hallmarking of gold and other precious metals mandatory. BIS has already initiated steps to effectively implement the new provisions of the Act.
The Union Minister emphasized that BIS can play a crucial role to make the smart cities work safely and smoothly. BIS has published National Building Code 2016 which provides guidelines for regulating the building construction activities across the country and serves as a model code for adoption by all agencies involved in building construction.Shri Paswan further stated that the time taken for granting of registration has been considerably reduced to 12 days. The Minister specially emphasized that Department of Consumer Affairs and Bureau of Indian Standard have to play a crucial role in spreading public awareness about various standards. The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Commerce & Industry, Shri C.R. Chaudhary, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Shri Avinash K Shrivastava, Director General, BIS, Smt Surina Rajan & other distinguished guests were present on the occasion.