Consumer Affairs Minister launched an online directory, which provides information about Indian standards of various products and testing infrastructure in the country for the benefit of various stakeholders such as start-ups.

There are estimated 10,000 labs across the country. Currently, about 4,500 labs owned by public and private academic institutions are listed on the online directory.

The link for the National Laboratoy Directory is www.labdirectory.bis.gov.in

The time has come to take on the policies of protectionism and unilateral measures by some developed countries that are having an adverse effect on global free trade and if this continues there will be recession in the world and no country will escape it, said Union Minister of Commerce & Industry.

Commerce and Industry Minister urged that all member countries must take up reforms of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and not deal with issues in a piecemeal manner. We cannot afford to walk away from the current system but all member countries of the WTO must re-engage to ensure that  the rule-based, transparent, and non-discriminatory governance that free-trade requires is taken forward honestly and in a non-discriminatory manner and keeping in mind the interests of different member countries with disparate GDP. He further stated that the policies of protectionism being followed by some countries in the developed world are affecting engagement between countries for trade in goods, services and protection of investments.