ABOUT QCI
Home ABOUT QCI

ABOUT QCI

ABOUT QCI

Quality Council of India (QCI) was established as a National body for Accreditation on recommendations of Expert Mission of EU after consultations in Inter-ministerial Task Force, Committee of Secretaries and Group of Ministers through a Cabinet decision in 1996. Accordingly, QCI was set up through a PPP model as an independent autonomous organization with the support of Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations, (i) Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), (ii) Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and (iii) Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).  

QCI is a non-profit organization registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry was designated as the nodal point for all matters connected with quality and QCI to structure and help implementation of the Cabinet decision.   

QCI has been established to create a mechanism for independent third party assessment of products, services and processes. It plays a pivotal role at the national level in propagating, adoption and adherence to quality standards in all important spheres of activities including education, healthcare, environment protection, governance, social sectors, infrastructure sector and such other areas of organized activities that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life and wellbeing of the citizens of India.

MISSION

To lead nationwide quality movement in India by involving all stakeholders for emphasis on adherence to quality standards in all spheres of activities primarily for promoting and protecting interests of the nation and its citizens.

OUR

VISION

Excerpts from the speech of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Honorable President of India inaugurating the 2nd National Quality Conclave on February 9, 2007 at New Delhi

“My definition of nation prosperity index is equal to GDP including quality of life for all coupled with value system. It is essential to ensure that all the citizens are empowered with good quality of life encompassing nutritious foods, good habitat, clean environment, affordable health care, quality education with value system and productive employment leading to the comprehensive qualitative development of the nation.

There is a strong urge in our society to come out century old “Developing Country” brand name to “Developed Country” status. To become developed country, we must have competitive edge in the international market. Quality is very essential to achieve this. We must use competition as an opportunity to improve our quality and to transform from a technology importer to technology exporter.”


The Quality Council of India (QCI) is a pioneering experiment of the Government of India in setting up organizations in partnership with the Indian industry.

Background

Since 1992 a need had been felt for the establishment of an accreditation body in the country to establish internationally acceptable mechanism for recognition of conformity assessment results. With regards to laboratories, an accreditation body under the Ministry of Science & Technology was already functioning. A committee which included various interested ministries and stakeholders including industries was established to make suitable recommendations. The work was coordinated by the then Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion – DIPP ( now “Department for Promotion of  Industries and Internal Trade” – DPIIT) and the recommendations were submitted to the Cabinet in 1996. Key recommendations included “the need for establishing an organization jointly by the Government and the industry” and “the need for the organization to be self-sustaining and be away from the government”.

Accepting the recommendations, the Cabinet Committee decided to set up Quality Council of India as a non-profit autonomous society registered under Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 to establish an accreditation structure in the country and spread the quality movement in India by undertaking a National Quality Campaign.

HISTORY

The Chairperson of Quality Council of India since inception:

Mr. Ratan N. Tata
Mr. Venu Srinivasan
Dr. R. A. Mashelkar
Mr. Ajay Shankar
Mr. Arun Maira
Mr. Saurabh Chandra
Mr. Amitabh Kant
Mr. Adil Zainulbhai
Mr. Jaxay Shah

1997 – 1999
1999 – 2001
2001 – 2007
2007 – 2010
2010 – 2013 (Sept)
2013 (Oct 2013) – 2014 (Feb)
2014 (March) – 2014 (Sep)
2014 (Sep) – 2022 (Oct.)
2022(Oct.) till date

The Secretary General of Quality Council of India since inception:

Mr. Vijay Kumar Mediratta
Dr. Girdhar J. Gyani
Mr. B. Venkataraman
Dr. Ravi P. Singh
Mr. Rajesh Maheshwari
18th Oct. 1998 to 14th Nov. 2003
3rd Dec. 2003 to 21st May 2012
22nd May 2013 to 31st Aug. 2014
29th Sept. 2014 to 28th Sep, 2023
29th Sep 2023 till date

MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION

MOA-1997

MOA-2009

Ammended MoA - 2014

Ammended MoA - 2014

KEY OBJECTIVES

To achieve the Mission of QCI by playing a pivotal role in propagating, adoption and adherence to quality standards in all important spheres of activities including education, healthcare, environment protection, governance, social sectors, infrastructure sector and such other areas of organized activities that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life and well being of the citizens of India and without restricting its generality shall inter-alia include:

  1. To lead nationwide quality movement in the country through National Quality Campaign aimed at creating awareness amongst citizens, empowering them to demand quality in all spheres of activities, and promoting and protecting their well being by encouraging manufacturers and suppliers of goods and service providers for adoption of and adherence to quality standards and tools.
  2. To develop apropos capacities at the level of Governments, Institutions and enterprises for implementing & institutionalizing continuous quality improvement.
  3. To develop, establish & operate National Accreditation programmes in accordance with the relevant international standards & guides for the conformity assessment bodies certifying products, personnel, management systems, carrying out inspection testing, calibration & medical laboratories,  proficiency testing providers, reference material producers & test facilities  adhering to OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practices and such other areas of organized activities that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life and well being of the citizens of India.
  4. To develop, establish and operate National Accreditation Programmes for various service sectors such as education, healthcare, environment protection, governance, social sectors, infrastructure sector, vocational training etc., to site a few, as may be required, based on national/ international standards and guidelines and where such standards are not available, to develop accreditation standards to support accreditation programmes.
  5. To build capacities in the areas of regulation, conformity assessment and accreditation to overcome TBT/SPS constraints;
    • To   establish and maintain strong linkages with international and regional fora such as International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), International Accreditation Forum (IAF), Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation (APLAC), Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC), International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) etc. and to participate in Plenary Sessions, Committee Meeting etc. in order to keep pace with the latest development and for promoting Multi-lateral Recognition Arrangements/Mutual acceptance of Data and
    • To undertake all the activities which promote Bi-lateral/ Multi-lateral Recognition Arrangements between QCI/ Constituent Boards and Accreditation Bodies in other countries.
  6. To encourage development & application of third party assessment model for use in government, regulators, organizations and society.
  7. To promote quality competitiveness of India’s enterprises especially MSMEs through adoption of and adherence to quality management standards and quality tools.
  8. Promoting the establishment of quality improvement and benchmarking centre, as a repository of best international / national practices and their dissemination among the industry in all the sectors.
  9. To encourage industrial / applied research and development in the field of quality and dissemination of its result in relevant publication and trade journals;
    • To Publish books, literature & periodicals and disseminate information related to the objectives of    QCI and
    • To organize / participate in trade fairs, exhibitions, seminars etc. at National & International forum.
  10. To build capacities including development of appropriate quality accreditation mechanism for other emerging areas that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life and well being of the citizens of India such as food sector, oil & gas, forestry, agriculture /animal husbandry, warehouse, pharmacy etc. or as the need may arise from time to time.
  11. To facilitate effective functioning of a National Information & Enquiry Services on standards & quality including an appeal mechanism to deal with unresolved complaints.
  12. To develop and operate an appeal mechanism to deal with unresolved complaints

Rules and Regulations

Rules and Regulations

Extract of minutes of meeting of Cabinet

RULES & REGULATIONS

Comments are closed.

Close Search Window
↑