Paswan appeals to people to boycott Chinese products

The comments from the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister come against the backdrop of heightened border tensions between India and China. "I want to appeal to everyone that the way China is behaving, we boycott all Chinese products," Paswan said and emphasised that the Centre would strictly implement the BIS quality rules on products imported from China.

Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday appealed to people to boycott products from China and also directed officials of his ministry not to procure any Chinese products for day-to-day office use. The comments from the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister come against the backdrop of heightened border tensions between India and China.

"I want to appeal to everyone that the way China is behaving, we boycott all Chinese products," Paswan said and emphasised that the Centre would strictly implement the BIS quality rules on products imported from China. Speaking to reporters, he expressed concerns over illegal imports of sub-standard Chinese products like diyas and furniture. The government would strictly implement the quality rules framed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

The BIS, under the aegis of the Consumer Affairs Ministry, has framed over 25,000 quality rules for different products so far. "When our goods reach abroad, they are checked. Our Basmati rice exports get rejected, but when their goods come to India, there is no strict quality control," the minister said.

The new BIS law, passed in Parliament in 2016, empowers the Centre and the BIS to promote a culture of quality of products and services through mandatory or voluntary compliance with Indian standards. The law provides for widening the scope of conformity assessment, enhancing penalties and making offences compoundable besides recalling of the products including with ISI marked, but not conforming to relevant Indian Standards.