The government on Friday said it has not yet issued a mandatory quality certificate to around 160 Chinese companies for selling toys in India, and the delay is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From January 2021, India has made it mandatory to get the quality certification mark of 'ISI' from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for the sale of toys in the country.
"Around 160 Chinese toy companies have applied for the BIS quality certification in the last two years. We have not yet issued to them in view of the COVID-19 pandemic," BIS Director General Pramod Kumar Tiwari told reporters.
Normally, the BIS quality certification is issued after an inspection of the factories. Due to the pandemic restrictions and health concerns, the BIS officials could not visit China, he said.
"Neither they invited us for inspection nor we could visit China because of the pandemic," Tiwari said.
Tiwari, who was briefing media about the BIS' achievements on its 76th Foundation day celebration, also clarified that there is no ban as such on the import of Chinese toys but they should comply with the mandatory Indian quality standards.
In the last two years, the BIS has granted the quality certificate to 29 foreign toy makers, out of which 14 are from Vietnam, he said.
The BIS has also issued the quality certificate to 982 Indian toy makers in the same period, he added. It has been conducting enforcement raids in the last few days at major airports and malls across the country for violation of toy quality control orders.
"We are conducting raids at toy stores located at major airports and malls in the country. We have found imported toys without BIS quality market are being sold. At some places, fake BIS licenses have been used for selling toys," Tiwari said, adding that the BIS plans to conduct raids for an entire month.
Tiwari said consumers can complain if they find illegal 'made in China' toys sold in the country.
Addressing the BIS' 76th Foundation Day celebration held immediately after the press briefing, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal said the countries, which have adopted quality in the early stages of their development, have progressed better and faster.
"The quality has been a common feature in developed countries growth. ....We will not become a developed nation unless we recognise the quality," he said.
India is working towards maintaining the quality of cutting edge as the world is looking at it, Goyal said, listing out the steps taken towards this endeavour.
He also called for creating more awareness about quality through 'The Standards Club' and 'Quality Connect' initiatives of the BIS across the country. He also suggested roping in retired technical experts in this endeavour.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said the government plans to bring more products under the mandatory quality control order (QCOs) to make India a quality-conscious nation.
The government has identified several products to bring under the QCO. The consultation process is underway to bring more chemicals and textile products under the QCO in the immediate future, he said.
On the occasion, a portal for mapping industrial units and labs, training courses on the national electrical code of India, national electrical code of India besides standard national action plan were launched.
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Ashwini Kumar Choubey and other senior BIS officials were present at the event.
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