Udyog Manthan: Promoting Quality and Productivity in Indian Industry
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoCI), Govt. of India (GoI) in association with Quality Council of India (QCI), National Productivity Council (NPC), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) & Industry Chambers have organised Udyog Manthan - a two month long marathon of focused sector-specific webinars for promoting Quality and Productivity in Indian Industry. This webinar series was launched on 4th January, 2021 and will run till 2nd March 2021. The webinars are being organized to create a mindset of quality and productivity in the Indian Industry and realize the Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat driven by the Vocal for Local Sentiment. The inauguration on 6th January 2021 was presided by Sh. Piyush Goyal, Hon'ble Minister of Commerce and Industry. He said that Udyog Manthan will be a harbinger of change in the way we work, in our mindset & will truly be remembered for the base that it will set for India to engage as a global player with high productivity & high quality. His address was preceded by remarks from Dr. Vandana Kumar, JS, DPIIT, Sh. Adil Zainulbhai Chairman, QCI and Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary DPIIT.
In the first month of January , 20 webinars on various important sectors including Toys, Leather, Furniture Chemicals, Tourism, Drones have been organized. Each webinar is a moderated panel discussion that lasts for about 2 hours and delves deep into issues related to quality of products and productivity of units in the sector. Every webinar is started by an official from the concerned ministry and he/she lays down the context for the discussion. The discussion is then led by a moderator and panelists from the industries and associations in the sector make recommendations for the industry to become more competitive in international trade and boost local consumption. The panel is diverse and includes speakers from both small and large-scale industries, experts in the sector etc. Many high-profile International speakers have graced the webinars of various sectors and given valuable insights on Global best practices in improving Quality and Productivity that can be transposed in the Indian Context. All the suggestions that come up in this 2 month-long Udyog Manthan webinar series covering 45 sectors are being consolidated by Quality Council of India in a sectoral compendium of recommendations to be published in March,2021 for the Government to consider in making policy changes if required and Industry to act upon.
The Udyog Manthan webinars are being hosted on Webex platform for registered participants from the industry and are also streamed live on YouTube. Many questions sent by the participants across various platforms are taken up during the course of the webinars. Speakers and participants have both written to Udyog Manthan team expressing their delight on being a part of this first of a kind event, members of the Indian Industry feel that such brainstorming sessions should happen at least once in every 6 months. Big companies in various sectors like Furniture, Footwear etc have assured that they will guide the smaller players in replicating best practices in improving Quality and Productivity. The government's efforts in bringing out Quality Control Orders and technical regulations for many sectors were widely appreciated as they have helped the industry in enhancing the quality of products in the domestic market. Smaller players are especially happy that Industry Stalwarts and representatives from Industry Bodies and Certification Councils are answering their queries. These webinars have garnered positive response and hence have created anticipation for the upcoming sessions. It is hoped that more practical recommendations will come up in the webinars to be held next month that will aid the Government in making an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.
