BIS starts monitoring of Bengal’s unorganised sector
Times of India | 4 January 2025
Kolkata: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has started monitoring manufacturing units across the state's unorganised sector, said senior director and head of the BIS Kolkata branch office (II) Anindya Chakrabarti. On Friday, BIS organised an industry meet with 250 representatives from different sectors.
"We are monitoring small enterprises and unregulated manufacturing units across the state to ensure that they also comply with the stipulated standards. With Centre's focus on local manufacturing to reduce dependency on exports, we are bringing unauthorised units under the fold of standardisation," Chakrabarti said.
Compliance failure rate has come down in the past year, especially in sectors like jewellery, cement and steel. According to its official data, BIS granted licences to 302 manufacturers in 2024, while the figure was 212 in 2023.
" In 2024, we tested 3,391 samples...in 2023, the samples tested for compliance checking were 2,707. The rate of sample failure for compliance came down to 10.3% in 2024 from 16.3% in 2023," Chakrabarti said.
Sabyasachi Dhar, head of Kolkata branch office (I), said, "While many products are recognised by BIS, certification is mandatory for 650 specific items."