6 Oct 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. International Film Festival of India (IFFI)
2. Quality Council of India (QCI)
3. Collaboration between BIS & IEC

1. International Film Festival of India (IFFI)

Syllabus – GS 1, Film Festival-Art forms.

Prelims – IFFI.

Context – 53rd Edition of IFFI.

Details –

• The 53rd Edition of  IFFI is being held in Goa in November 2022. The festival will showcase a collage of the best contemporary and classic films from India and across the world.

About IFFI –

• The International Film Festival of India is conducted every year jointly by the state government of Goa and the Directorate of Film Festivals, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The IFFI, founded in 1952, is Asia’s most significant film festival. Goa has been declared its permanent venue.
• IFFI aims at providing a common platform for filmmakers from across the globe to showcase their talent and put forth the excellence of cinema from all over. Bringing together film cultures, the festival allows the understanding of various social and cultural ethos and appreciation of world cinema.

2. Quality Council of India (QCI)

Syllabus –  GS 2, Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors

Prelims – QCI (Quality Council of India)

Context – Silver Jubilee Celebrations of QCI.

Details –

• Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry addressed the gathering at the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of QCI. He urged the QCI to work towards building a world-class Quality System in India and make quality a mission. The minister said that the culture of quality has to be ingrained in the nation so that it becomes a developed nation by 2047.
• The motto of the event was Gunnwatta Se Atmanirbharta; India’s Quality Movement. The event commemorated the efforts made by QCI in its pursuit of delivering quality of services, products and lives.
• Prior to 2014, there was a significant gap in the price paid and the quality of coal received due to a lack of adherence to quality standards. Once QCI stepped in and started taking initiatives like the third-party sampling of coal, there was a significant improvement in the quality of coal.
• QCI has also played an important role in the ODOP (One District One Product) initiative to promote products from remote areas of the country and find its markets in India and abroad. QCI introduced the concept of quality in remote regions so that products would become acceptable in Indian and International markets.
• QCI has contributed to the GI tagging initiative and to completing the Swachh Survekshan.
• QCI has contributed to setting up standard operating procedures which have helped in the transformation of processes of Food Corporation of India (FCI), including a live surveillance system piloted by QCI for monitoring food grains through a tech-enabled approach that has helped bring in greater transparency in public service delivery.

Know more about QCI in the link.

About QCI-

• QCI was established as a National body for Accreditation on recommendations of the Export Mission of EU after consultation with the Inter-ministerial Task Force, a committee of Secretaries and Group of Ministries through a cabinet decision in 1996. Accordingly, QCI was set up in 1997 jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations-
  •  Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
  • Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
  • Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

3. Collaboration between BIS & IEC

Prelims – BIS & IEC

Context – Collaborative efforts between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for wider promotion of standards.

Details – 

• At present, India is a member of IEC-SBM (Standard Management Board) and MSB (Market Strategy Board) – the highest policy-making bodies of IEC which are responsible for technical matters and for identifying relevant subject areas for future work respectively. India also participates in technical committees and subcommittees and their groups. 

BIS & IEC –

• India started taking part in IEC in 1911 and subsequently, the then Indian Standards Institution (now BIS) took over the responsibility of the Indian National Committee of IEC (INC-IEC) in 1949 from the Institution of Engineers. Since then the INC-IEC has been actively participating in the activities of the IEC both at the policy level and technical work and carrying out the responsibilities as a member body of the IEC Council.
• The BIS is also actively involved in bilateral cooperation with National Standards Bodies of other countries and with other Standards Developing Organizations for cooperation in areas of standardization, testing, certification, training, etc.
• The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is the organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. (The corresponding Standards organization for all other products and systems is the International Organization for Standardization – ISO).

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