The Quality Council of India (QCI) is a national body established for raising the quality and standards related to every aspect of life for the overall development of the nation. This works as a quality infrastructure, maintaining the quality of Indian goods and services and leading them easily to the foreign markets. The Quality Council of India was formed in 1997 as a public-private partnership model working towards assuring quality standards throughout all the social and economic spheres of the country.
Role of Quality Council of India
The role of the Quality Control Council of India is establishing and operating a structure for national accreditation while promoting quality by the National Quality campaign. The QCI functions with their own set of resources as well as through the fees obtained from accreditations and quality promotion investments. When it comes to quality eco-system across the world, QCI is the National Accreditation Body (NAB). It creates a mechanism in which processes, products and services are subjected to a third-party assessment.
History of the Quality Council of India
India required an accreditation body for the assessment of standard quality with global acceptance. This led to the formation of a committee including the relevant ministries, the industry stakeholders, and the governing bodies in the year 1992.
The committee came up with the agenda of proposing recommendations for the formation of an industry body abiding by the concept. The overseeing of the process was done by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. The final recommendations were sent to the Union Council of Ministers in the year 1996. This eventually led to the formation of the QCI in 1997.
Swachh Bharat Mission
The Ministry of Urban Development commissioned the Quality Council of India to conduct an extensive survey for measuring the overall success of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The hygiene rankings for a total of 73 cities were released by the Quality Council of India under the Swachh Survekshan 2016.
FAQs
Who frames the rules for the QCI?
The QCI has its own Memorandum of Association and Rules. It is an autonomous organisation representing the government, relevant industries, and industry associations.
How many members constitute the decision-making body in the QCI?
A total of 38 members act on the strategic decision related to the QCI. A Secretariat headed by a Security General manages the operations of the QCI.