FICCI inks maiden international JV with ASQ for quality

New Delhi, Nov 20 (UNI) Moving out of its domestic periphery, FICCI today inked its first ever international joint venture (JV) agreement with American Society for Quality (ASQ) in the sphere of quality.

Under the agreement, the ASQ and FICCI Quality Forum will roll out certification and training programmes on quality management for Indian firms.

''The JV would serve as a resource hub for complete Asia-Pacific region, West Asia, and South Asian region for FICCI-ASQ, especially in the times of the current global financial meltdown,'' ASQ Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer Paul Borawski said while talking to reporters here.

This alliance will herald a new era in the history of quality movement in one of the fastest growing and most important economy, he added.

The programme will focus on quality engineering, Six Sigma, apart from holding a major quality conference in the country next year.

The new JV will facilitate the adoption of global best practises in quality, which besides enhancing competitiveness of Indian Industries, will also help them become truly world-class, FICCI Secretay General Amit Mitra said.

The new entity ''FICCI-ASQ Foundation for Innovation and Excellence'' will comprise of a Chief Executive and six board members.

This JV is the first of its kind, signed between the two organisations outside their country.

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