The Department of Consumer Affairs and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action signed the new Work Plan for 2023 during the 9^th Annual Meeting of the Indo-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure. The plan was signed in Berlin, Germany on 25 April 2023.

This year's Annual Meeting marks the 10th anniversary of the Working Group. Smt. Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs and Dr. Daniela Broenstrup, Director General, Digital and Innovation Policy, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action during the meeting emphasised the important role of the Working Group in reducing technical barriers to trade and promoting innovation and consumer protection.

The technical dialogues of the Working Group address key areas of economic cooperation between the two countries. In addition, they promote systemic harmonisation of quality infrastructure (QI) at an international level.

The annual meeting was attended by stakeholders from both sides including the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the German Institute for Standardization (DIN), the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (DKE), other quality infrastructure organisations as well as industry associations including Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The Stakeholders from QI bodies and industry provided insights on current QI developments in Germany and India. These included the Standards National Action Plan for India, as well as the German Standardization Roadmaps Circular Economy and Industries 4.0. Other contributions covered market surveillance activities in India, as well as applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in market surveillance and the digital accreditation symbol.

The Work Plan 2023 is structured along the key elements of QI, including standardisation, accreditation, conformity assessment, legal metrology, product safety and market surveillance. It addresses cross-cutting topics like harmonised global solutions as well as sector-specific cooperation topics, such as digitalisation (Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, cyber security), circular economy, smart farming and machinery safety.

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