Participants and officials at the sensitisation programme for MSMEs on quality standards and BIS certification jointly organised by the BIS Guwahati Branch Office and NIDC in Dimapur on June 20. (Morung Photo)
Passive seminars not sufficient
Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 20
Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC) Chairperson Kvulo Lorin has called for an end to passive business awareness seminars, and shifting gear toward generating tangible business outputs.
Speaking at a sensitisation programme for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on quality standards and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification, Lorin said that local businesses must move past general discussions to achieve measurable results. Lorin said, “We don't need any more sensitisation programmes. We need actual results and output now.”
The event, jointly organised by the BIS Guwahati Branch Office and the NIDC, focused on the role of quality standards in enhancing product credibility and consumer confidence.
In keeping with the result-oriented vision, he said that the NIDC will track and monitor how many of the seminar attendees actually begin the BIS certification process. While stating that the NIDC will report these figures publicly, he said, “I will ask my office to track by name how many of you in this room actually begin the certification process in the next 90 days.”
According to him, the NIDC is committed to serve as a hands-on, “single window facilitation point” to support local MSMEs through the regulatory process. Under this initiative, he said that the NIDC will assist entrepreneurs in navigating certification applications and connect them to financing resources if certification fees present a barrier. Food processing units, bamboo and cane producers, textile and handloom enterprises, and construction material suppliers are the target sectors. He laid emphasis on local enterprises adopting national standards to survive and compete against outside products entering the state.
Shouvik Chanda, Director and Head of the BIS Guwahati Branch Office, said that the joint initiative aims to bring the concept of quality to the grassroots industrial level. Chanda noted that standardisation is vital not only for consumer protection but also to help local businesses expand their reach. He stated that obtaining BIS certification allows MSMEs to sell their products beyond Nagaland and enter wider national markets, noting that the BIS has similar schemes for foreign companies seeking to sell goods in India. Chanda outlined the various activities of the BIS, including product certification, management system certification, and hallmarking, to help businesses improve their operations.
NIDC General Manager Temjenyanger Jamir said that standardisation is no longer optional in a competitive market. Jamir stated that while Nagaland produces goods, local manufacturers face difficulties penetrating organized markets without proper standard certification.
