Aviation sector witnessed a growth of 18% which was the highest in the world: Jayant Sinha (Minister of State, Civil Aviation) at the 11^th National Conclave
MoU between Quality Council of India and Food Industry Capacity & Skill Initiative (FICSI)

New Delhi, 20 August, 2016: The Quality Council of India (QCI), a Government of India body which propagates the adoption and adherence to quality standards in all important spheres of activities, organised the 11^th edition of its flagship event- National Quality Conclave (NQC) 2016. The two day event was inaugurated on August 19 by Jayant Sinha (Hon’ble Minister of State, Civil Aviation) along with Suresh Prabhu (Hon’ble Minster of Railways) who joined the inaugural session via live video conference. The event was based on the theme “Improving Quality for our 125 Crore Citizens”.

The inaugural session also witnessed the signing of a MoU between Quality Council of India and Food Industry Capacity & Skill Initiative (FICSI) for the design of a framework for certification of individuals in the food sector. The MoU was signed by Adil Zainulbhai (Chairman, Quality Council of India) and Siraj Azmat Chaudhry (President, FICSI).

Suresh Prabhu (Hon’ble Minster of Railways) commented, ”Railways as a transport service is used by a large population and thus, quality plays a key role to ensure the smooth journey of its passengers. Considering the fact that the number of passengers are increasing day by day, it is important for the quality of services are of high standards and match the expectations of the travellers.”

Speaking at the inaugural session Jayant Sinha said, “As we try and improve what we are doing in the delivery of public services, quality has to permeate everything and we have to continuously raise our standards so that we can meet the aspirations of our 125 crore citizens. We as a government have to work towards meeting these expectations and aspirations of the people of our country.

The aviation sector is growing very rapidly. We have more than 100 million passengers taking trips this year and we have seen a growth of 18% in the sector last year in terms of volume which was the highest in the world. Some of our airports are the best in world and we have to ensure that their capacity is in accordance with the increase in the number of passengers. Through DGCA and other regulatory bodies we are trying to ensure that passenger friendly measures are implemented and passenger rights are of priority.”

The event brought together leaders from varied industries on a common platform, providing them an opportunity to share and discuss new ideas to promote best quality practices in various sectors. The first day of the event witnessed sessions on a wide range of topics like Propagating Quality to the Grass Root Level in India, Swachh Bharat, Enough Clean Water, Food Safety, Empowering through Education, Quality of Care for Universal Health Coverage, Addressing Private Sustainability Standards enabling International Trade, Industry 4.0, Strengthening Patients’ Safety: Focus on Injections Safety among many others.

Some of the prominent speakers at the event included Paramsweran Iyer (Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation), Sanjay Khajuria (Senior VP, Corporate Affairs, Nestle), Saraswati Prasad (Additional Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation), Padma J S Rajput (Educationist and Former Director NCERT) to name a few.

Commenting on the conclave, Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, QCI, said, “The theme of the conference is Improving Quality for 125 Crore citizens. QCI is very focused on doing that. It is a very huge challenge- a challenge for country as its developing. India now has that rare window of opportunity to improve the Quality of life for its 125 Crore citizens and lay the foundations for a truly prosperous future. QCI being the national organisation for quality infrastructure, accreditation and certification took this initiative with an intent to deliberate on key issues that impact the nation and to facilitate continuous improvement in the quality of lives of the citizens.”

NQC 2016 also hosted the QCI-DL Shah Quality Awards. The Awards recognised and felicitated successful projects of an organisation that have resulted in continuous improvement of products and/or services, better and effective operations as well as increased customers/stakeholders satisfaction.