By- Ramesh K, Scientist – E, Director and Head, HRBO, BIS
Standards, the often-overlooked yet indispensable components of our modern world, are documented guidelines that define consistent criteria, processes, and specifications for various products, services, and systems. They play a pivotal role in ensuring quality, safety, interoperability, and reliability, making them essential for industries, businesses, and consumers.
World Standards Day commemorates the founding of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), organizations that have been instrumental in shaping the landscape of international standards.
Beyond their immediate applications, standards have a crucial role in addressing some of the most pressing global issues, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By providing a common language and framework, standards can help to drive innovation, promote sustainable practices, and create a more equitable and sustainable world. For example, standards can help to ensure that products are manufactured in a way that minimizes environmental impact, that workers are treated fairly, and that consumers have access to safe and affordable products and services.
Standards are the foundation of quality, safety, and sustainability. By providing clear guidelines and consistent criteria, standards help to ensure that products and services meet the highest standards of excellence. As we continue to face pressing global challenges, standards will play an increasingly important role in driving innovation, promoting sustainable development, and creating a better future for all.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, outlines 17 ambitious goals aimed at addressing the most pressing global challenges. These goals, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), encompass a wide range of issues, from eradicating poverty and hunger to combating climate change and promoting gender equality.
The world has pledged to reach the SDGs by the year 2030, recognizing the urgency of addressing these challenges. Achieving these goals requires coordinated efforts involving governments, businesses, civil society, and individuals across the globe.
The 17 SDGs are interconnected and interdependent, meaning that progress on one goal can help to achieve others. For example, eradicating poverty is linked to ensuring quality education, promoting gender equality, and combating climate change.
This year’s theme continues under the multi-year campaign, ‘Shared vision for a better world,” with a focus on SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure’, underscores the significance of standards in driving innovation and building sustainable infrastructure for the future.
In India, BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways – providing safe reliable quality goods; minimizing health hazards to consumers; promoting exports and imports substitute; control over proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification and testing.
The writer is Scientist – E, Director and Head, HRBO, BIS