New Delhi, Aug 17: Government is actively considering making penalties for manufacturers of fake drugs, medicines and other consumer products more harsh and stringent to deter dubious businessmen from misusing the ISI mark. A process to this effect had already been set in motion by Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Yadav, who has directed the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) "to take up the issue on a priority basis".
"It is felt that current penalties under Section 33 of the BIS Act are not harsh enough to deter unscrupulous manufacturers from misusing ISI mark making it imperative that they are made even more stringent so that violators are dealt with effectively and decisively," Yadav said. He said the BIS had also been instructed to strengthen its enforcement wing, involve independent NGOs and other professionally qualified agencies in inspection of various product samples and make quality standards "dynamic" by timely review in tune with technological changes.
There is no point in revising quality standards after a fixed time period of five years and instead the exercise should take place on a continuing basis depending on technological changes relating to manufacture and testing of product, he added. Nationwide raids last month involving 42 places in 15 states showed a number of manufacturers were using ISI mark on spurious products, action has now been initiated against them.
Government is committed to maintain the sanctity of the ISI mark and penal provisions are being strengthened to this end, he added. Bureau Report