Government To Roll Out Quality Standards For Drones And EVs Based on the discussion between concerned ministries and government departments, more products have been identified for notifying them under quality control orders (QCOs) and mandating compulsory certification of BIS, according to sources
By Teena Jose •
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Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, on Wednesday, said that the government is working to develop mandatory quality standards for drones and electric vehicles (EVs), a move aimed at containing the import of sub-standard products and boost domestic industry, according to a PTI report.
In the EV segment, standards are being developed for specific requirements for electric power train and rechargeable electrical energy storage systems for certain categories of vehicles, electric rickshaw and type approval of hybrid electric vehicles.
As per minister's words, the standards for drones that are used extensively in the agriculture space — for soil analysis, irrigation, crop mapping and pest management — have already been formulated. Also, the work is underway for developing quality control orders (QCOs) for charging infrastructure of EVs. The report further stated that quality control orders on drones for the agriculture sector will help boost crop yields, thereby benefiting farmers.
Pramod Kumar Tiwari, director general, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), said in a statement, "Several standards for batteries have been developed and they are working on battery swapping. We expect that in about 3 months, we will be able to develop that. Six standards have already been published. These were formulated for EVs, lithium-ion traction battery packs and systems, electric traction motor, measurement of range, energy consumption and net power in EVs."
Validating the statement, Goyal said that it is taking some time as there was opposition from the industry, and added, "We want cooperation from the industry on this."
Based on the discussion between concerned ministries and government departments, more products have been identified for notifying them under quality control orders (QCOs) and mandating compulsory certification of BIS, government officials said.
Tiwari also informed that the standard on UAV general requirements, testing requirements of sub-systems and cybersecurity is under development. He added that cybersecurity is essential in drones for protection from cyber-attacks, unauthorized access, and theft of data.
"The document is being developed on the basis of risk identification. Compliance with this document will ensure protection of sensitive data, maintaining privacy, ensuring safe operation, preventing hi-jacking," he added as per the report.
