India to link quality control orders with lab capacity in 2026 overhaul

The Centre is shaping a wider and more deliberate standards strategy for 2026, moving to realign Quality Control Orders (QCOs) with actual testing and laboratory capacity while easing friction with key trading partners. The shift follows a series of QCO withdrawals over the past few months and growing scrutiny at the World Trade Organization (WTO), prompting a recalibration that ties future QCOs to laboratory readiness, phased transitions, and clearer justification for regulatory intervention.

The new approach marks one of the most comprehensive resets of India’s quality regime since the QCO framework began expanding rapidly after 2014. The government had earlier set an ambitious target to eventually bring 2,000–2,500 products under mandatory quality norms. For FY26 alone, officials had planned to notify over 700 additional products under the QCO regime.

To operationalize the expansion, a meeting involving 37 ministries was held in February 2025, chaired by the consumer Affairs ministry, the controlling authority of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Each ministry was tasked with identifying products that could be brought under QCO.

In January 2024, the then Union Minister for Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal had underscored the centrality of quality, stating compliance with high-quality standards would help India achieve its ambition of becoming a developed nation, and outlined plans to substantially expand the QCO framework. At the time, 156 QCOs covering 672 products had been issued, compared with just 14 QCOs covering 106 products before 2014.

Less than a year later, however, the trajectory began to shift. On 13 November, the government withdrew 14 QCOs in a single move, even as it reaffirmed its commitment to quality manufacturing earlier that week. These withdrawn orders largely covered polyester and petrochemical inputs, offering relief to user industries such as apparel and footwear, while increasing competitive pressure from imports for domestic producers of these inputs.

The rollback came after a NITI Aayog committee chaired by former cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba called for relaxing certain QCOs that were raising costs for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) dependent on imported raw materials. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals subsequently acted on these recommendations.

However, the policy rethink was conceptualized as early as December 2024, well before the Gauba committee was formed in August 2025. Mint had reported on 13 December 2024 that the government was considering enabling provisions that would allow domestic industry to bypass certain QCOs or seek more time.

The first signs of this shift emerged on 23 July, when the government withdrew QCOs for three key industrial chemicals—acetic acid, methanol and aniline— reducing the number of products under QCOs to 758 from 761.

After the 13 November withdrawal, the number of products regulated through QCOs fell to 744. This was further reduced to 743 after the viscose fibre QCO was withdrawn, and declined again to 736 after seven more were rescinded on 1 December.

The 1 December notification withdrew QCOs covering several chemicals which had required mandatory BIS certification since 2021.

However, the government continued to signal its commitment to quality enforcement. On 21 November, it notified 12 new Indian Standards covering cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, wind energy systems and homoeopathic preparations, aimed at replacing several outdated specifications by April 2026.

Earlier, Mint had reported on 1 April 2025 that the US Trade Representative report had flagged India’s QCO regime as a trade concern, arguing that some standards do not align with global norms and disrupt plastics and chemical trade.

Two officials involved in the process said on the condition of anonymity that the recent withdrawals aimed to prevent supply disruptions, particularly in sectors such as textiles, paper and light engineering, where manufacturers depend heavily on global inputs. Meanwhile, BIS has continued to notify new standards, showing that the emphasis is not on diluting quality enforcement but on sequencing it more intelligently, the first among the two officials cited above said.

"QCOs are mandatory in nature, while standards are voluntary. However, standards often serve as a pathway to QCOs over time, especially in cases where voluntary compliance remains low or stakeholders fail to adhere to the prescribed norms,” this official said.

The broader reset now underway prioritizes safety-critical sectors—including electrical appliances, toys, medical devices and select chemicals—while adopting a more measured rollout for other categories. According to the second official, future compliance timelines will be backed by adequate domestic testing infrastructure, predictable certification pathways and realistic transition windows.

Meanwhile, countries including the US, EU, Japan, South Korea and Asean members have raised concerns at the WTO, citing short notice periods, limited consultation and insufficient risk assessments for several QCOs. While India has consistently defended its right to regulate quality and safety, BIS has acknowledged internally that better-paced implementation can reduce friction without diluting regulatory objectives. The 2026 roadmap would include mandatory pre-notification, wider exporter consultations and clearer criteria for introducing QCO, as per the officials cited above.

Industry players say the transition is already reshaping operating conditions. “The QCO on plywood has helped the industry by putting a clear check on substandard imports, particularly from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, which had been distorting prices and undermining compliant domestic manufacturers. With stricter standards now in place and better enforcement, we see a more level playing field emerging for organized players,” said Manoj Tulsian, CEO and joint managing director of GreenPly Industries Ltd.

Steel manufacturers echo that view. “Stronger BIS safety and quality standards reinforce India’s commitment to a reliable, globally aligned steel sector,” said Chandragupt Prakash Mangal, MD, Mangalam Worldwide Limited, a stainless steel manufacturer, noting that consistent implementation supports domestic producers and strengthens India’s global competitiveness.

Electronics makers say a more targeted QCO regime will provide greater design and sourcing flexibility amid tightening global component cycles. “Greater flexibility around components allows design teams to move faster, while integrating testing and certification earlier in the cycle helps ensure smoother market readiness,” said Abhishek Malik, executive director at Calcom Vision, a B2B electronics manufacturer, adding that the shift encourages a development environment that is more agile yet standards-conscious, strengthening both design efficiency and product reliability across the sector.

Easing controls on plastics, polymers or metals would lower input costs and support innovation and competitiveness, said Vivek Singhal, co-founder & CEO of Bidso, a B2B manufacturer of outdoor toys.

"At the same time, strong BIS norms for finished toys remain essential given safety risks from toxic chemicals and mechanical hazards. BIS data showing 91% compliance under the toys QCO, 2020 indicates certification works. A model combining upstream flexibility with strict product-level safety can support growth, exports and consumer trust,” Vivek Singhal said.

"Coming to the next year, the industry should have a system with few restrictions on basic raw materials and strict, frequently updated requirements for chemical, mechanical, and electrical safety at the final product stage. At the same time, the government and authorities should provide digital traceability for completed toys, incentives for smaller manufacturers, and progressive compliance roadmaps," he said.

Pharmaceutical companies, which have long sought regulatory predictability, say the new approach strikes a balance. “Stronger safety standards in priority pharmaceutical areas, along with selective easing of certain QCO requirements, create a more constructive environment,” said Bhavin Mehta, whole-time director at Kilitch Drugs and vice-chairman of Pharmexcil. “If future QCO rollouts are phased and aligned with national lab capacity, predictability will further improve, allowing companies to sequence compliance, testing partnerships, and supply-chain adjustments efficiently. This structured approach supports operational continuity and strengthens India’s long-term competitiveness in export markets,” said Mehta.

Policy experts caution that QCOs remain central to India’s long-term quality strategy. “It has taken India over a decade to clean up supply chains and mature processes to adopt QCOs. This has not only led to better, safer products for our consumers, but also provided a level playing field to the domestic players as cheap, poor quality imports were impacting our domestic industries,” said Jaijit Bhattacharya, founder & president, Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research (C-DEP), a policy think tank.

“We are perhaps going to a tweaking of the QCO process but in the short run, we do need to get back the QCOs in order to become a developed economy, just as the US, Europe, Japan and China have adopted mandatory standards for their imports,” Bhattacharya told Mint.

A key driver of the reset is the gap between BIS’s mandate and India’s laboratory capacity. Several government labs face equipment shortages, uneven accreditation and limited geographic coverage. For 2026, BIS and the Department of Consumer Affairs are working on a capacity map linking each new QCO to the availability of accredited labs within reasonable logistics distances, mirroring approaches used in Europe and Japan.

Officials cited above said that the capacity-linked approach would prevent situations where QCOs are notified but manufacturers face long testing queues, inconsistent results or delays in obtaining BIS licences—issues that contributed to multiple rollbacks over the past year.

The recalibrated roadmap represents the first coordinated attempt to align standards ambition with institutional readiness. By linking QCO enforcement to laboratory capacity, improving notification timelines and focusing on priority sectors, the government aims to reduce trade friction, avoid implementation gaps and provide industry with predictable compliance pathways, while keeping quality at the centre of India’s manufacturing and consumer protection strategy.