Govt mulls BIS exemption for high-tech companies setting up plants in India

The government is considering a new regulation to exempt companies in high-tech sectors from mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for equipment and components required to set up manufacturing facilities in India, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

The issue of obtaining BIS certification was raised by Japanese semiconductor companies during Goyal’s recent visit to Tokyo.

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Goyal said a semiconductor company requires around 13,501 components to manufacture a semiconductor chip. Japanese firms told him that obtaining BIS approvals for such a large number of components was a major challenge.

"...if they are making a semiconductor of this quality, then surely they will take care of what they are buying. So, we are coming up with a new regulation. In such high-tech sectors, we will exempt all companies from all BIS. They can source from anywhere in the world whatever they want," he said at the ACMA event here.

The proposed regulation is aimed at ensuring timely availability of equipment, goods and services for high-tech companies setting up manufacturing operations in India and supporting the government's Make in India initiative.