By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, OCT 23, 2014: THE Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification, demonstrating the Ministry’s mission of promoting the growth and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises with dedication and commitment.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, expressed happiness over this accomplishment and stated it is a matter of pride that the Ministry is one of the first in Government of India to be awarded ISO certification. He appreciated the hard work put in by the officers and staff to align the systems and procedures with the requirements of ISO standards. He further stated that implementation of ISO standards will enable the Ministry to identify areas for improvement and also bring in transparency and accountability in the functioning.

Cabinet Secretariat had issued Guidelines to all Ministries/Departments for obtaining ISO Certification. Accordingly, this Ministry had started the preparations in December 2013 by constituting a Management Committee to give direction and momentum to the implementation of ISO 9001:2008. Several rounds of training were imparted to the Ministry’s personnel and the Quality Manuals were prepared in line with the ISO requirements.

During implementation of ISO 9001: 2008 standards, the Ministry was able to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for its functions and activities and compare and benchmark these standard operating procedures with other similar organizations in Government of India, states, private sector or international organizations.

The award of ISO 9001:2008 certification indicates that the Ministry has implemented a quality management system that enables it to consistently provide services that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

TUV India Ltd was engaged as the Certifying Body for audit of Quality Management Systems of the Ministry as per ISO Standards. Subsequent to the successful completion Stage1 and 2 Audit in September, 2014, the Certifying Body has awarded ISO 9001: 2008 Certificate to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Implementation of ISO 9001: 2008 standards will help the Ministry to identify areas for improving functioning and also bring in transparency and accountability in the operations of government machinery.