Quality Council of India Organizes Awareness Program

New Delhi / Paradeep, Odisha, 10/12/2025 — The Quality Council of India (QCI), under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, conducted an extensive awareness program on the LEAN Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme and the Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification Scheme of the Ministry of MSME. The program was held in collaboration with the Odisha Industries Association (OIA) and CIPET, Paradeep, drawing participation from 60–70 MSME units across the region.

Mr. Manik Gupta, Deputy Director, Quality Council of India, delivered an interactive and insightful session outlining the substantial benefits of the Central Government’s schemes aimed at enhancing product quality, process standardization, and global competitiveness of Indian MSMEs. He emphasized how the ZED and LEAN frameworks enable manufacturing units to reduce defects, adopt best practices, and achieve global standards with minimal rejections.

Senior dignitaries including Mr. Tarun Kanta Mohanty, General Manager, District Industries Centre (DIC), and Mr. B.P. Patro, Director, CIPET, also addressed the gathering and highlighted the Government of Odisha’s initiatives to strengthen the MSME ecosystem.

Odisha has already demonstrated significant progress under the ZED scheme, with 8,957 Bronze, 40 Silver, and 9 Gold certificate holders—a total of 9,006 ZED-certified MSMEs out of 12,304 ZED-registered enterprises in the state.

QCI Unveils Comprehensive ZED & Lean Framework to Drive MSME Competitiveness for Viksit Bharat 2047 The Quality Council of India, under the leadership of Chairperson Jaxay Shah, Secretary General Chakravarthy T. Kannan, has presented a strategic blueprint to accelerate India’s march towards Viksit Bharat 2047. This includes strengthening the ZED Certification and Lean Manufacturing Schemes aimed at empowering MSMEs through quality enhancement, productivity improvement, and sustainability.

QCI—through its specialized accreditation boards NABL, NABH, NABCB, NABET, and NBQP—supports over 300 national projects spread across 50+ ministries, fostering a robust national ecosystem for quality and capability building.

ZED (Zero Defect Zero Effect) Framework Highlights.

The upgraded ZED model evaluates MSMEs on 20 parameters, including:

Leadership & quality management

Workplace safety

Environmental performance

Supply chain maturity

Technology integration & upgradation

The certification process includes pledging, compliance documentation, verification, onsite assessment, and final recommendation.

Major Benefits for MSMEs:

Improved operational efficiency and reduced defects

Higher productivity and profitability

Enhanced credibility in global markets

Stronger environmental and safety compliance

Financial Incentives Under ZED

The Government of India has announced extensive support, including:

50%–80% subsidy on certification (up to 100% for women-owned enterprises)

Financial aid for testing, product certification & technology upgrades: up to ₹3 lakh

Handholding assistance: up to ₹2 lakh

Additional concessions for SC/ST, NER, Himalayan, LWE regions, and units under SFURTI and MSE-CDP clusters.

Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme

The Lean Scheme—implemented across e-learning, basic tools, and advanced tools levels—helps MSMEs reduce waste, strengthen process discipline, and significantly improve profitability. Several MSMEs have showcased remarkable turnarounds, shifting from negative margins to over 12% profit after Lean adoption.

With 90% government funding and an additional 5% subsidy for eligible groups, MSMEs bear only a marginal share of consultancy costs, making Lean integration highly accessible.

Combined Benefits of ZED & Lean

MSMEs can avail nearly ₹20 lakh in combined financial advantages, along with:

Improved brand value

Ease in availing financial concessions from banks

State-specific promotional incentives

QCI urged MSMEs across India to adopt these frameworks to contribute actively to the nation’s aspiration of becoming a globally leading, quality-driven economy by 2047.

Event Participation and Acknowledgments

Several senior members of the Odisha Industries Association were present, including:

Abani Kanungo, Rajesh Kanungo, Vinod Bhut, Rama Ballav Nayak, Subhrakanta Panda, Rudra Acharya, Sidharth Kanungo, Aniruddha Puhan, Ashok Sahoo, Prasant Mahapatra, Anil Jain, Bibhudata Samantray, Arun Bagharia, Priyanath Mohanty, Ajay Panda, Bipin Dandpat, Kaushik Garabadu, and Manas Das.

Welcome of guests: Mr. Vinod Bhut, Vice President, OIA

Welcome address: Mr. Abani Kanungo, Chairman, OIA

Vote of thanks: Mr. Rajesh Kanungo, President, OIA

The event concluded with enthusiastic participation from attendees, who appreciated the informative presentation and expressed strong interest in adopting ZED and Lean frameworks for strengthening their manufacturing capabilities.