New Delhi, July 31, 2013: The Union Ministry of Steel has become the first Central Ministry to be awarded ISO 9001:2008, Quality Management System certification.
As per the available information, the Bureau of Indian Standards has conferred the Ministry with the certification for three years, with effect from June 25, 2013 to June 24, 2016.
Sunil Soni, DG-BIS (Directorate General, Bureau of Indian Standards) presented the certificate to the Union Steel Minister, Beni Prasad Verma here today.
The certificate was handed over in the presence of the Secretary, Ministry of Steel DRS Chaudhary and other officials of the ministry.
The Minister lauded the efforts of the officials of the Ministry of Steel in accomplishing the feat and expressed happiness over the Ministry being the first amongst Central Government Ministries to have received the certificate.
The Ministry of Steel has been conferred with the coveted certification under the able leadership of Minister of Steel, Beni Prasad Verma. The Minister has been laying emphasis on streamlining systems and procedures in the Ministry to improve its working and bring about transparency. Verma has been the guiding force behind the effort and has taken special interest in the matter.
ISO 9001 is quality management system which codifies quality standards in every area of organization’s functioning. Many Governments around the World have made ISO 9001 a mandatory requirement. Even developing countries, like Malaysia and Kenya have made it a mandatory requirement in their government organizations. In India, Ministry of Steel being first to get the certification has covered all its sections under ISO 9001:2008. The certification will help in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and will aid in streamlining and improving the quality of services provided by the Ministry. It will help in benchmarking of SOPs and improve quality consciousness by focusing on strategic issues and bring about transparency.
The certification involves laying down the work processes, manage and control them with the aim of continuous improvement. ISO certification will result in transparent performance of the Ministry and quick delivery of results to the beneficiaries.