Ministry of Commerce, Govt of India through a gazette notification dated 24th August, 2023 has promulgated an order known as Cast Iron Products (Quality Control), Order 2023. Under this, Cast Iron Products would have to conform to the corresponding Indian Standard as specified and shall have to bear the standard mark under a licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) which shall be the certifying and enforcing authority for the specified goods. There is also mention of penalty for contraventions in the said order.
Although this order would come into effect six months from the date of notification, as one can understand from the content and intent of the order, the provisions are likely to have significant and far-reaching impact on the operations and quality adherence of the Foundry Industry.
In order to familiarise the foundry fraternity with the above Quality Control Notifications and facilitate the foundry members to register and obtain necessary certification, Indian Foundry Association (IFA) and Foundry Cluster Development Association (FCDA) in collaboration with The Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) organised a joint seminar in Kolkata on 1st March, 2024 .
Shri Dinesh Gupta and Shri Pradeep Mittal from IIF took the initiative to join hands with IFA and FCDA to organize this seminar. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) deputed their designated officials from Kolkata Office, namely Shri Mainak Gantait, Scientist & Deputy Director and Shri Debraj Banerjee, Engineer; to guide and educate the members so that the members can carry out the exercise themselves and complete the formalities.
Hundreds of cast iron industry stakeholders attended the seminar.