India and Germany signed a work plan for cooperation to strengthen quality infrastructure, reduce technical barriers to trade, enhance product safety and strengthen consumer protection.The work plan 2022 was signed during the virtually held 8th annual meeting of the Indo-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure, led by the Indian Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh and Deniela Bronstrup, Director General, Digital and Innovation Policy at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) were present in the meeting.
"A Work Plan for the Year 2022 was agreed upon and signed by both sides...," an official statement said.
The areas identified for collaboration include mobility, energy, circular economy, smart farming/ agriculture, medical devices, digitalisation (artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 and other new technology areas), machinery safety, medical devices and equipment and market surveillance.
Speaking in the meeting, India's consumer affairs secretary underscored the importance of a well-established and robust quality infrastructure which consists of standardisation, technical regulations and market surveillance for the success of the government's initiative to transform India into a global manufacturing hub.Stating that Germany is an important and trusted partner for India, the secretary expressed hope that the Work Plan 2022 signed virtually during the meeting would pave the way forward for collaboration towards well functioning and resilient systems of quality infrastructures.
He urged involvement of all the relevant stakeholders, such as different ministries, standardisation bodies and industry to learn from each other's approaches on different aspects of quality infrastructure.
Germany's Bronstrup said despite the challenging period, both sides continued cooperation under the framework of the Working Group.
"This is a great sign of strong relations between Germany and India and that both sides can draw benefits from exchange of information and expertise on issues of mutual interest to support bilateral trade," he said.The German side shared their initiatives at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and requested support for the German candidate for the position of Director Standards at ITU.
A publication -- 'United in Quality and Safety' -- was released providing information about the quality infrastructure in Germany and the European Union.
Outcome of the Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) study conducted by the German side was also shared.
As per the GQII report, India is placed at seventh position on standardisation aspect, ninth for accreditation activities and 19th for metrology related activities.
India scored 95.6 out of 100 and is ranked at 10th place in the world for overall quality infrastructure environment in the country, the statement said.
This was followed by a panel discussion on 'Digitalization and sustainability: key factors for an effective and modern Quality Infrastructure' and a session on 'Focus areas for cooperation within the Indo-German Working Group in 2022'. The Working Group meets annually since 2013, and identifies areas of cooperation to support and strengthen quality infrastructure taking into account needs and requirements of relevant stakeholders from diverse technology areas so as to support bilateral trade.