New Delhi: The Quality Council of India (QCI) on Tuesday announced a comprehensive overhaul of India’s quality ecosystem, rolling out system-wide reforms across healthcare, laboratories, MSMEs and manufacturing, as part of the government’s push towards Viksit Bharat 2047.
At the centre of the reform package is the launch of the ‘Q Mark – Desh ka Haq’, a QR-coded mark of quality that allows citizens to verify the authenticity of laboratories, hospitals and MSMEs, aimed at eliminating fake certificates and improving transparency. The initiative signals a shift from an inspection-heavy regime to a trust-based model, with reduced paperwork, fewer inspections and shorter turnaround times.
QCI said it will consolidate multiple accreditation portals into a single, paperless, modular platform and introduce ‘Quality Setu’, a ticket-based system for time-bound grievance redressal. Entry barriers for assessors will be lowered to expand the assessor pool and strengthen last-mile implementation.
For MSMEs and industry, the reforms focus on improving quality adoption at scale. QCI will mentor Tier-2 and Tier-3 suppliers to achieve ZED and Lean certifications, while one lakh MSMEs and self-help groups under the ODOP initiative will be trained in quality, packaging and branding in 2026. Certification fees under ZED and Lean schemes will be reduced to improve affordability for small enterprises.
Sector-specific reforms were also announced. Under NABL, measures such as 48-hour approval for authorised signatories, quick scope extensions and elimination of additional product-based fees aim to position India as a global testing hub. In healthcare, NABH reforms include relaxed eligibility norms for smaller hospitals, graded penalties instead of blanket bans, and AI-assisted desktop surveillance for consistently performing hospitals to reduce physical inspections.
For certification bodies, QCI plans to introduce globally aligned certifications for indigenously manufactured products, enabling faster acceptance of Indian goods in global supply chains. Fast-track accreditation will be rolled out for emerging sectors such as drones and cybersecurity.
QCI chairman Jaxay Shah said the reforms are designed to simplify compliance, reduce friction and leverage technology to make quality assurance faster, more transparent and accessible, positioning quality as a key enabler of sustainable growth and global competitiveness.