Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII), India’s Accreditation System Ranked 5th Globally

Global Quality Infrastructure Index: GQII is an initiative that measures the relative development of countries’ Quality Infrastructure (QI). Global Quality Infrastructure Index is important for UPSC Prelims 2023 and UPSC Mains Exam (GS Paper 3- Indian Economy and Infrastructure Development).

Global Quality Infrastructure Index in News

India’s national accreditation system under the Quality Council of India (QCI) has been ranked 5th in the world in the recent Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021. India’s accreditation system is the youngest among the three Quality Infrastructure Pillars (QI) pillars in India, and we have jumped to global fifth within a year in these rankings.

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India’s Ranking in Global Quality Infrastructure Index

The Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) ranks the 184 economies in the world on the basis of the quality infrastructure (QI). India’s overall QI system ranking continues to be in the Top 10 at the 10^th position, with the standardization system (under BIS) at 9^th and the metrology system (under NPL-CSIR) at 21^st position in the world.

• Nodal Bodies ensuring QI in India: In India, following bodies are entrusted for ensuring QI
  • Metrology Sector: The National Physical Laboratory under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (NPL-CSIR) is the national metrology institute,
  • Standardization System: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national standards body and
  • Accreditation System: The constituent national accreditation boards under Quality Council of India support are the custodians of the national accreditation system.
• Accreditation helps establish the competence and credibility of conformity assessment bodies (CABs) which perform testing, certification, inspection, etc.
  • The National Accreditation System as per international standards in India is established by the Quality Council of India (QCI).
• The rise in India’s accreditation ranking is attributed to the steady growth of conformity assessment bodies (CABs) under national accreditation system.
  • These are testing & medical labs, product certification bodies, and management systems certification bodies.

What is Global Quality Infrastructure Index?

Global Quality Infrastructure Index measures the relative development of countries’ QI. The GQII rankings are published and presented post-facto for each year based on the data collected till the end of that year.

• The 2021 rankings are based on data till end of December 2021, collected and analyzed through 2022.
• It is an initiative on metrology, standardisation, accreditation and related services, supported by Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany.
• A formula calculates a score for each country based on its position in the sub-rankings for metrology, standards and accreditation.
• Geographically, the top 25 QI systems are mainly located in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, with some exceptions, such as India (10th), Brazil (13th), Australia (14th), Turkey (16th), Mexico (18th) and South Africa (20th).

Global Quality Infrastructure Index FAQs

1. What is Global Quality Infrastructure Index?

Ans. Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) is an initiative that measures the relative development of countries’ Quality Infrastructure (QI) on three parameters- Metrology Sector, Standardization System, Accreditation System.

2. What is India’s national accreditation system Rank in the Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021?

Ans. India’s national accreditation system under the Quality Council of India (QCI) has been ranked 5th in the world in the recent Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021.

3. What is India’s overall rank in the latest Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII)?

Ans. India’s overall QI system ranking continues to be in the Top 10 at the 10^th position in the Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021.

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