KOLKATA, Aug 7 (PTI): The Quality Council of India (QCI), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has inaugurated its regional office in Kolkata and has plans to open a number of more such offices across the country.
QCI Chairperson Jaxay Shah said that the Kolkata office inaugurated on Sunday is the second regional office after the one opened in Bangalore.
The next in line is the Ahmedabad office, while more will be opened subsequently in Mumbai, Chennai and other strategic locations depending on requirements, National Board for Quality Promotion (NBQP) CEO A Raj said.
NBQP is one of the constituent boards of the QCI, a New Delhi-based body.
Raj told PTI that QCI used to have its regional presence through associated organisations.
“Now, the QCI felt it necessary to have its own offices in various regions for better coordination,” he said.
The Kolkata office will cater to the entire eastern India, including the northeastern states and also neighbouring countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.
The QCI’s Kolkata regional office will closely work with the West Bengal health department to ensure smooth coordination of quality certifications, said Jaxay Shah.
QCI has been established to create a mechanism for independent third-party assessment of products, services and processes. It plays a pivotal role in propagating, adoption and adherence to quality standards in all important spheres of activities including education, healthcare, environment protection, governance, social sectors and the infrastructure sector.
National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) chairperson Subbanna Ayyappan said there are around 5,000 labs in West Bengal, and only 500 of them are accredited. The board aims at making 1,000 NABL-accredited labs in the state by 2025.
Nationally, there are currently 15,000 hospitals that are National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH) accredited, and around 12 per cent of them are government hospitals.
NABL and NABH are among the constituent boards of the QCI.
