Quality and safety standards
Also called: product standards · Topic: Consumer Rights and Consumer Protection · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 12 "Understanding Markets"
Meaning
Quality and safety standards are rules that manufacturers must follow when they make goods or deliver services. The government sets them because buyers cannot check the safety of many products themselves. Setting standards is one of the government's main jobs in markets. Rules alone are not enough, though. They also need proper supervision, because weak checking lets unsafe products survive. Too many rules can also make it hard for markets to work well.
Example
Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, the government, through CDSCO, approves medicines and sample-tests them. Sample-testing means picking some batches and checking them in a lab to see if they meet quality standards.
Don't confuse with
- Certification mark: a standard is the rule itself. A certification mark, such as the ISI mark, is the logo that shows a product has been checked against that rule.