BIS

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standards Body of India, is a statutory body set up under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986. The Bureau is responsible for formulating National Standards. It comprises of members representing the Industry, Consumer Organizations, Scientific & Research Institutes and Professional Bodies, Technical Institutions, Central ministries, State Governments and Members of Parliament. The organization was formerly the Indian Standards Institution (ISI). BIS is a founder member of International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). It represents India in ISO. One of the major functions of the Bureau is the formulation, recognition and promotion of the Indian Standards. As on 31 March 2008, 18424 Standards formulated by BIS, are in force. These cover important segments of economy, which help the industry in upgrading the quality of their products and services. BIS has identified 14 sectors which are important to Indian Industry and is engaged in formulation of Indian Standards for these sectors. These sectors are: Production & General Engineering Chemicals Civil Engineering Electronics and Information Technology Electrotechnical Food and Agriculture Mechanical Engineering Management and Systems Medical Equipment and Hospital Planning Metallurgical Engineering Petroleum Coal and Related Products Transport Engineering Textile Water Resources

For formulation of Indian Standard, it has separate Division Council to oversee and supervise the work of each sector. The Standards are regularly reviewed and formulated in line with the technological development to maintain harmony with the International Standards.

Functions of BIS
a. Standard formulation b. Product certification c. Management System certification i. Quality Management System Certification Scheme ii. Environment Management System Certification Scheme iii. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) iv. Occupational Health and Safety Management System Certification Scheme (OHSAS) d. Laboratory management e. International cooperation f. Training ( National Institute of Training for Standardisation) g. Hallmarking of gold jewellery h. Foreign Certification

Objectives

Harmonious development of standardization, marking and quality certification To provide new thrust to standardization and quality control To evolve a national strategy for according recognition to standards and integrating them with growth and development of production and exports

ISO (International Organization for Standardization)

The International Organization for Standardization, widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. International Standards are developed by ISO technical committees (TC) and subcommittees (SC) by a process with six steps. The steps are: Stage 1: Proposal stage Stage 2: Preparatory stage Stage 3: Committee stage Stage 4: Enquiry stage Stage 5: Approval stage Stage 6: Publication stage ISO has 162 national members, out of the 204 total countries in the world. ISO has three membership categories:

Member bodies are national bodies that are considered to be the most representative standards body in each country. These are the only members of ISO that have voting rights. Correspondent members are countries that do not have their own standards organization. These members are informed about ISO's work, but do not participate in standards promulgation. Subscriber members are countries with small economies. They pay reduced membership fees, but can follow the development of standards.