New Delhi, Sept 8 (KNN) Following the mandate of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certifications for different products has put a burden on MSMEs by increasing their cost of production as the BIS has raised its fee by over 72 per cent in a span of two years.

Talking to KNN, Naveen Jain, an MSME entrepreneur, Managing Director of Muzaffarnagar based Dayachand Engineering explained the MSMEs are facing because of the increase in the cost of obtaining certifications.

Jain informed that the marking fee charged by BIS for electrodes stood at Rs 51,200 in the year 2015. The fee was increased to Rs 60,000 in the following year. In 2017, the fee further went up to Rs 88,000 marking a sharp rise of over 72 per cent in the span of just two years.

Jain rebutted that the current situation is not in the best interest of the sector.

“This phenomenon of unjustified increase in costs have hit the sector hard, especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the sector that is already struggling in the atmosphere favourable for large business,"  Jain added.

Ease of Doing Business- Promotion of MSMEs

Jain expressed that while on one hand the government claims that it is doing its best to ease the ecosystem for the entrepreneurs and MSMEs in the country while on the other hand it is over burdening the units every year with a rise in the price for obtaining the mandatory certifications.

Also the government has time and again projected its ambition of having a stronger MSME base in the country, but with such situations in place, the indicators work in the other director.

Multiplicity of clearances

While the world is moving towards a unified standardization process, but the industry in the country still has to face multiple checkpoints when it comes to standardization. Citing instances Jain added that it’s not just the certificate from BIS that is required; the MSMEs also have other certifications including the RDSO, BEE, etc. hampering the MSME ecosystem, Jain grieved.

No Staff-Poor labs

Jain informed that despite the high fee paid by the industrial units every time they need a certification, the BIS lacks appropriate staff at their centres. Also the labs are not well up to date and lack sufficient infrastructure making the process of obtain certificate all the more tedious. (KNN/ DA)