Chairman, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, Shri L. Mansingh; Shri Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs; Shri Sharad Gupta, Director General, BIS; Distinguished awardees, guests, ladies & gentlemen.
I am indeed happy to be present here on this important occasion of the presentation ceremony of Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the year, 2008.
These prestigious Awards, instituted by the Bureau of Indian Standards in 1991, have already established themselves as the premier National Awards in the fields of standardization and quality and the recipients are recognized as the champions of quality movement in the country and I sincerely wish that the awards continue to motivate the industry for sustained efforts for improving quality.
Today, no business entity can exist or function in isolation. Operating in free market economy has meant that all business processes are interdependent competing across national boundaries and the only operating criterion is the quality of products and services at competitive price.
Thus, in such a scenario, where survival of any business entity hinges on sustenance of quality at competitive costs, one can ill afford to relax. Poor quality will not only mean loss of business, but cause serious dent to the national image in the international market, thereby, affecting future business prospects as well.
Quality does not come by chance. It also is not achieved in a day. It is a result of constant efforts which need to be maintained throughout and always. To achieve excellence in quality in any walks of life, you have to have the goal of being the best. You have to approach this step by step using short term goals. When one goal is met you set another goal which is achievable, of course by hard work. Each success leads to the next one. Each time you visualize where you want to be, what you want to be, you approach it with the end target in mind and you focus on getting there. As you reach those goals, as you achieve those targets, you gain confidence and you concentrate on the next step. It is all a game of mental attitude.
It is, therefore, imperative that the Indian industry focuses on continually improving quality by coming up with economical inputs, better designs, improved manufacturing skills, entering into technological collaborations and through capacity building in skilled human resource. Reliance on stricter conformity assessment procedures will continue to be the corner stone for ensuring consistency in quality. The outcome of these efforts will be a satisfied customer, which, to my mind, is the ultimate yardstick for quality. I would, therefore, call upon the Indian industry to rededicate its efforts in ensuring satisfaction of their customers, both internal as well as international. This is the only key to success.
On this important occasion, it would be appropriate to reiterate our commitment to Quality in all walks of life. India has made tremendous industrial progress during last few decades in wide ranging products including those in high-tech areas. In quantitative terms, we are now grouped amongst top few industrialized nations in the world. However, on quality front, we have to hasten our pace to gain from the benefits of globalization and provide better consumer protection.
It has now been realized that poor quality manifests as an additional cost in the form of avoidable rejections and re-work, which gets added in the cost of production, thereby affecting competitiveness and profitability. Further, today the work has shrunk considerably and is coming to terms with the concept of interdependence of nations, resulting in rapid growth in international trade. In this context the quality of products assumes added importance. Poor quality, besides resulting in loss of national image in the international market, acts as a serious impediment in the way of efforts for increasing exports. This starves the industry of its internal inputs required for modernization and growth. The handicaps created by the poor quality of products and services are now being increasingly felt and this has become a matter of serious concern to the industry and consumer at large. Fortunately, the scenario is changing and there is now a greater awareness about Quality.
Quality has a value, which can be expressed in the monetary terms. Inspection or audits can not build quality into products. Quality has to be designed and manufactured into the product at all stages right from initial identification to final satisfaction of customers’ requirements and expectations. The various stages which have bearing on quality, relate to marketing and market research, designing of the products, procurement of materials, process planning, production, inspection, packaging and storage, sales and distribution, installation, and after sales service. Each stage has to get some input from the previous one, carry out the process and give the output to the next process. Therefore, each stage is a customer as well as supplier. The supplier at each stage, therefore, should fully understand what is the expectation of his immediate customer, and try to fulfill it.
Further, Customer satisfaction is the ultimate measure of the quality of a product or service. Customer reaction may be immediate or delayed. Customers seldom volunteer their assessment of quality to the organization. Dissatisfied customers often cease to use or purchase products or services without giving notice that would permit corrective action to be taken.
The organizations should, therefore, institute an ongoing assessment and measurement of customer satisfaction. These assessments should seek positive as well as negative reactions and their likely effect on future business. These assessments can form vital tools for perceiving and improving the quality of the products.
I feel that one of the effective ways of inculcating quality culture and strengthening international competitiveness of various organizations, is the institution and operation of national quality awards. These Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards give special recognition to those manufacturing and service sector organizations that are considered to be the leaders of the quality movement in India.
I take this opportunity to laud the efforts of the Bureau of Indian Standards, the National Standards Body of India, for the role it has been playing in safeguarding the interests of the industry, the consumers and the society and remaining at the vanguard of quality movement, both within and outside the country.
On its part, BIS has diversified into many new areas in the past few years and its efforts have met with considerable success whether it is Management System Certification, Hallmarking of Gold and Silver Jewellery and Artefacts or Foreign Manufacturers’ Certification Scheme. Here, I will specially like to mention the efforts being put in by the Bureau in promoting awareness about Hallmarking in the country. BIS is also the National Enquiry Point for WTO-TBT inquiries for India and is disseminating information on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures from all over the world, to the Indian industry.
I assure the Bureau of Indian Standards that it will continue to receive all support and encouragement it deserves from the Government to further augment its efforts.
I take this opportunity to extend my heartiest congratulations to the award winners and recipients of commendation certificates for their efforts in demonstrating that quality can be achieved without compromising on profitability and yet contributing to the well being of their employees, society and environment. I am confident that the awardees will continue their pursuit for achieving excellence in quality and staying abreast with the latest technological advancements.
Finally, I also congratulate the Bureau for its untiring efforts in promoting quality consciousness in the country. I sincerely hope that it will redouble its efforts and impart renewed impetus to the cause of standardization and thereby, achieve excellence in all its operations.
JAI HIND
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