India SME Forum and Amazon host Bharat Quality Mission

Building on the momentum of a recent national webinar that saw participation from over 11,000 MSMEs, the conference featured deep dives into critical challenges such as certification delays, testing infrastructure gaps, high compliance costs, and misalignment with global standards that hinder export competitiveness. With sectoral representation from electronics, food processing, and textiles, the discussions underscored the need for phased QCO implementation, sector-specific compliance norms, expanded testing infrastructure, and financial support mechanisms—establishing consensus on a tech-enabled, reform-oriented roadmap to empower India’s MSMEs.

Themed “Enabling MSMEs for Global Competitiveness”, the event was organized in the wake of growing concerns as narrated by small sellerswho have facedescalating challenges due to abrupt implementation of mandatory QCOssince last year like blocked capital and unutilized imported goods. It marked a turning point in industry-regulator dialogue, emphasizing that compliance should be a catalyst—not a constraint—for MSME growth. The conference concluded with the formal submission of a policy recommendations dossier to the Ministries of Consumer Affairs and MSME, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT).

Delivering the keynote address as chief guest, Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, said,“When India rejected substandard goods, manufacturing units began shifting to India – bringing investment, technology, jobs, and confidence. This momentum is key to India becoming the third-largest economy, which requires strong manufacturing and globally competitive MSMEs. QCOs boost quality and exports, and adherence to standards is essential. To support this, we are strengthening testing infrastructure across the country with INR 78 crore being invested through BIS. Our aim is to empower MSMEs with the knowledge, tools, and confidence they need to move forward.”

 One of the key sessions featured Ramaswami Lakshman, Director of Emerging Markets, FBA at Amazon. “Digitization has the power to level the playing field for MSMEs. At Amazon, we are committed to helping Indian sellers – especially from tier 2 and 3 cities – navigate compliance, improve quality, and reach customers across India and globally. Over 12 million MSMEs have already been digitized through our initiatives. We are proud to support initiatives like the Bharat Quality Mission that are essential to shape policy frameworks andcan help unlock the full potential of small businesses,”he said.

Vinod Kumar, President of India SME Forum opined, “We heard MSMEs, regulators, and solution providers agree that abrupt enforcement without capacity-building will paralyze small businesses. From delayed certifications to import bottlenecks and one-size-fits-all standards, the challenges are real. Our recommendations aim to drive a national framework that combines global best practices with local realities, ensuring MSMEs aren’t left behind in India’s pursuit of quality. Ultimately, quality must become a shared journey, not an enforced destination.Aligning with global certificationsas endorsed by the Ministry of MSME will make MSMEs globally competitive.We are thankful to Amazon for partnering with us on seller compliance awareness.”

About India SME Forum

India SME Forum, is India’s leading organisation for MSMEs, with over 98,200 MSMEs as direct paid members (including 9400+ Women Entrepreneurs) and 12,36,000 MSMEs as subscribers across 19 State Chapters. India SME Forum is a nominated member of the Advisory Committee mandated in the section 7, sub section (2) of the MSMED Act, 2006, (27 of 2006 (https://www.dcmsme.gov.in/Advisory_Committee.aspx) and its professional association affiliation includes the Ministries of MSME, Finance, Corporate Affairs, Commerce & Industry of the Govt of India, FIDD of the RBI, UNIDO, UNCTAD, ITC Geneva, WUSME, INSME & WTO’s informal group for SMEs. For more information, please visit www.indiasmeforum.org.