‘Quality is not an accident, it is a result of painstaking effort; Quality is non-negotiable if we want to Make in India’

Udyog Manthan: Marathon of focused webinars for promoting Quality and Productivity in Indian Industry

New Delhi, Mar 2 (FN Bureau) Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji gave the clarion call to focus on quality when he said that it is an opportune moment for India to work on the ethos of ‘Zero Defect, Zero Effect’. He urged the Indian manufacturers and other industry leaders to ensure that our products meet global standards. Taking inspiration from his vision, Udyog Manthan, a marathon of webinars covering 46 sectors focussing on quality and productivity in all major sectors of manufacturing and services, started on January 4, 2021. The collaborative exercise was an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in association with the DoC, QCI, NPC, BIS, Industry Chambers and all concerned ministries. The valedictory session of the webinar series held on March 2, 2021 had a special address from Shri Som Parkash, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and Keynote address by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, Commerce and Industry, and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

During the last eight weeks, 46 sessions on various manufacturing and service sectors, covering almost 70% of GDP have been conducted including Automobile, Steel, Pharma, Defence, Cement, Textiles, Chemicals, Tourism/Hospitality, Financial Services, Biotechnology, New and Renewable Energy, amongst others. With 393 speakers and 17,000+ viewers on other various media platforms and an approx 6.5 million+ social media impressions, this Manthan drew a very enthusiastic response. Issues related to the quality of products and productivity of units have been discussed in sector specific webinars. These sessions were led by a senior officers from the concerned ministry, moderated by sector experts, and deliberated by experienced and expert panelists. The sessions were also streamed live on YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms. Many high-profile International speakers and experts have shared valuable insights on global best practices in improving Quality and Productivity. Recommendations on all major sectors are being consolidated in a sectoral compendium to be published soon.

Shri Piyush Goyal said that Quality is not an accident, it is a result of painstaking effort. It never has any cost and is always a win-win. Quality enhances productivity, brings down cost, increases efficiency, delivers economies of scale, brings consistency, eliminates waste and drives growth. He emphasised that Quality is non-negotiable if we want to ‘Make in India’. He urged the nation to make sure that ‘Brand India’ gets identified by quality & engages with the rest of the world on the strength of its cost competitiveness and high quality in goods, services and all other spheres of economic activity. He appreciated the efforts taken by the DPIIT along with DoC, QCI, NOC, BIS, other ministries and organizers to conduct ‘Udyog Manthan’ of this grand scale. The minister said that initiative is just the beginning of a Quality and Productivity revolution in the country, which can change the destiny of India and further the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision of PM Modi.