Defence products and components businesses can share their testing and accreditation needs for exports to help the Ministry of Defence (MoD) understand the extent of requirement for internationally accredited labs in the country.
-By Baishakhi Dutta
The “Make in India” movement emphasises on promoting indigenous production of components and products, and multiplying exports to boost the nation’s economy. However, providing products that will be desirable and credible on foreign soil will require some major groundwork to be covered – especially in terms of testing and accreditation of the products as per foreign requirements.
In attempt to solve this challenge in the defence sector, the MoD is facilitating active participation of India’s defence industry, including the defence electronics players. They have officially requested OEMs and suppliers of defence products to inform the Ministry about the various obstacles and concerns they face with testing and accreditation of their products during exports. The survey will help them improve testing facilities and regulations and strengthen defence exports of India.
What is the initiative for
Currently in India, main testing and accreditation of electronics products is attained through the various National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)-accredited testing laboratories available throughout the country. However, in many cases, overseas purchasers have their own specific test requirements, which can be availed from select internationally accredited testing facilities. This has necessitated the availability of such testing units within the country.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is acting as the bridge between the Ministry and the industry regarding this communication. Chiraag Samaddar, Assistant Director (Defence & Aerospace, Strategic Trade Control and Civil Nuclear Energy), FICCI, says, “The MSMEs feel that all of their products have to go through proper quality assurance. Having an in-built test facility is very costly. So, the Ministry wants to find out where exactly the MSMEs are having the issues in getting their products certified from the national laboratories, not only for Indian consumption but also for exports.”
The Ministry wants to simplify access to testing labs, since testing from other parts of the country is an expensive exercise. Samaddar adds, “Exporters will need certification from a lab that is accredited by a renowned body. This may lead to increase in testing price, and in turn, increase in product cost. The whole point, now, is to improve exports, both in terms of pricing as well as quality. This survey will help us find out where are we are lagging behind and what can be done by the MoD to push this.”
How to participate
Defence products OEMs, suppliers, exporters and associated players can write to the Ministry or to FICCI with their inputs along with details like name, product nomenclature, test requirements and so on. The major considerations while providing the inputs should include:
(a) Present system of accreditation of labs and testing of defence stores for exports.
(b) Way ahead to obtain accreditation of labs by International accreditation bodies.
The notice has defined a tabular structure (*see table below) in which the industry players can fill the necessary data along with their feedback at the earliest. Deadlines for the submission of necessary documents are February 7th, 2019.
What’s next
Regarding the steps that will follow the submission of industry feedback, Samaddar says, “Once we receive the responses, FICCI will evaluate the inputs first and forward the details to the ministry. Right now, the survey is being done at a very individualistic level. However, when we have the whole industry’s feedback, we will not look at the issues on individual company basis, but as the industry in general.”
“The ministry is trying to fill in this gap with the help of various technoparks which have these various testing facilities. The technoparks will also be able to help the MSMEs, with hand-holding from some big companies,” he adds.
* The template for sharing details:
No |
Name of Seller |
Nomenclature of Product / Equipment |
Name of Buyer & Country |
Test Requirements (with details of Standards / Specification of Test Parameters & Associated Accreditation Required) |
Details of Test Lab where Test Facility is available in India / Abroad (if not available in India) |
Remarks (if any) |
