ANSI launches cooperative program between U.S. and India.
Press Release Summary:
ANSI announced launch of U.S.-India Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program at ceremony in New Delhi attended by over 50 participants from U.S. and Indian organizations. Initiative, with funding by USTDA and in coordination with CII, is designed to provide access for U.S. companies to Indian market by boosting cooperation on standards/conformance issues. ANSI's S. Joe Bhatia provided opening remarks and leaders in U.S. and Indian trade community spoke on various issues.
Original Press Release:
ANSI Launches U.S.-India Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program in New Delhi
With an exchange of nearly thirty-four billion dollars of goods in 2007 alone, trade between the U.S. and India is active and growing. In order to facilitate this relationship and promote further growth, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to kick off the U.S.-India Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program (SCCP) today with a ceremony in New Delhi.
The initiative, which will be carried out by the Institute with funding from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and in coordination with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is designed to improve access for U.S. companies to the Indian market by boosting cooperation on standards and conformance issues. Participants will have the opportunity to become involved with and increase their individual engagement with Indian stakeholders.
Over fifty participants from U.S. and Indian organizations attended the launch ceremony, including representatives from ANSI members ASME, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), and Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
S. Joe Bhatia, ANSI president and CEO, provided opening remarks at the ceremony.
"Time and again, we have seen that those who understand how to effectively influence and address standardization and compliance issues have the greatest success in the international marketplace," said Mr. Bhatia. "Whether we are talking about IT, manufacturing, or services, the SCCP has been designed to facilitate trade and offer U.S. and Indian companies an additional path to success in a foreign market."
"This program is built upon a strong foundation of collaboration and mutual understanding," Mr. Bhatia continued. "Together, ANSI, USTDA, CII, and BIS [the Bureau of Indian Standards] are making a commitment to empower U.S. and Indian stakeholders with the standards and conformity assessment information resources they need."
Leaders in the U.S. and Indian trade community spoke on trade perspectives, the standards community outlook, and the Indian conformity assessment scenario. Speakers included Ms. Holly Vineyard of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC); Mr. Mark Dunn of the USTDA; Mr. Anil Mukim of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India; Mr. Girdhar Gyani of the Quality Council of India; Mr. Sharad Gupta of BIS; Mr. Yashwant Bhave of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India; and Mr. Bhaskar Bhat, of Titan Industries, Ltd. and committee chairman for CII.
Events surrounding the launch of the SCCP will continue next week with a ceremony at USTDA in Washington, DC on March 2, 2009.
For more information, visit www.StandardsPortal.org/us-indiasccp. Questions can be directed to Elise Owen, ANSI's representative for China and India affairs, (eowen@ansi.org; 202-331-3624) or Leslie McDermott, ANSI project coordinator for regional and bilateral affairs (lmcdermott@ansi.org; 202-331-3626).
