The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), convened a workshop focused on standards for the growing building and construction industries in the U.S. and India. The workshop built on past successes carried out under the three-year U.S.-India Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program (SCCP) initiative and the tripartite ANSI-CII-BIS Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in 2007. It was held at the Le Meridien Hotel in New Delhi on February 12-13, 2014.
The event was co-sponsored by six ANSI member organizations, including ASHRAE; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); ASTM International; the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO); the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); and Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
Leaders from the Indian Ministry of Urban Development, BIS, CII, and ANSI provided opening remarks stressing the link between the development of a viable uniform code for India and the protection of public health and safety. Over 90 representatives of U.S. and Indian organizations participated in discussions on topics such as U.S. and Indian landscapes for development of consensus codes and standards; building safety and regulation for urban development; consumer protection in the building sector; and application of environmentally friendly codes and standards in a building environment.
India's construction industry is emerging quickly and faces numerous modern challenges such as the encouragement of green building practices and addressing poverty alleviation in the rapidly expanding urban infrastructure. As India moves towards the implementation of uniform codes based on international standards, manufacturers in both the U.S. and India stand to benefit from a level playing field.
During a wrap-up session, facilitated discussion among all participants focused on identifying opportunities for future collaboration and topics to be addressed in support of mutual goals. Among the ideas discussed were additional technical exchange on more specific topics; collaboration between government regulators and industry in priority sectors; recommendations to support regional collaboration; and the need for training and credentialing for personnel in the field. As a next step, ANSI, CII, and BIS will circulate a summary of these opportunities for input and feedback on ways to implement future activities.
For more information on the U.S.-India SCCP and historical activities, visit www.StandardsPortal.org/us-indiasccp. Questions on the February workshop can be directed to Leslie McDermott, ANSI senior manager for international development ([email protected]; 202-331-3626).