Kalam calls for incorporating quality standards to get edge

New Delhi, Feb 9 (UNI) President A P J Abdul Kalam today said India, which was in transition from a developing country to a developed country, needed to acquire a competitive edge by incorporating quality standards.

Stating that raising quality was very essential to achieve this transition, he said, ''We must use competition as an opportunity to improve our quality and to transform from a technology importer to technology exporter,'' while inaugurating the Quality Conclave - Vision 2020 for Quality India organised by the Quality Council of India (QCI).

Dr Kalam told a gathering of quality specialists from the industry, business and Government that his ''definition of national prosperity index is equal to GDP including quality of life for all coupled with value system.'' To ensure that all the citizens were empowered with good quality of life encompassing nutritious food, good habitat, clean environment, affordable healthcare, quality education with value system and productive employment leading to the comprehensive qualitative development of the nation.

He wanted the QCI to evolve ''an Indian quality assurance standards for design, development and production of various types of goods and services needed by the country and for its export' through evolution of accreditation doctrine and eligibility criteria for selection based on the track record of the institution.

Noting that farming was one area which could benefit substantially through quality system support, the President called for productive partnership between farmers, agricultural scientists, textile industry supervisors and the Government by enabling farmers get quality seeds, quality fertilizers and quality pesticides from cooperative societies.

Regarding raising standards of education, he said it was necessary to connect knowledge to life outside the school, ensure that learning shifted away from rote methods and enriching of the curriculum to provide for overall development of children rather then remain textbooks centric and making examination more flexible, non-threatening and integrated into classroom life.

Dr Kalam further suggested that QCI consider bringing out certain benchmarks for schools and primary care centres and development of a rating system in consultation with academicians, parents, administrators and students and published on-line. ''QCI should facilitate our schools, colleges and universities to develop employable skills among our youth,'' he added.

To facilitate customers and citizens in evaluating the services and providing feedback for the improvement of services, he said QCI should consider evolving an independent evaluation system for efficacy of e-governance system established by the different agencies, giving feedback on government and corporate websites and bringing out a master plan for quality assurance encompassing all aspects of developed India 2020 vision with recommendations for all the functionaries who are responsible for provision of products and services.

''Particularly, the QCI counselling will be valuable to sarpanches and district authorities,'' he said.

UNI