PSQCA to submit proposal in next meeting

Ministry has issued 465 new licenses to different manufacturers in current year

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussain has said that Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) is an important arm of the ministry to ensure quality and standard of different food items being produced and processed in different regions of the country, therefore, we are committed to make it more a proficient and result oriented organisation.

He stated this while chairing a meeting with PSQCA officials in Islamabad on Wednesday. The meeting was convened to assess the overall performance of PSQCA.

PSQCA Director General Muhammad Khalid Siddiq gave a detailed presentation about the working and achievements of PSQCA.

The PSQCA DG informed the chair that the authority has seized 289 different units, including 144 bottles of water which were found to be substandard and unhygienic.



He said the authority has issued 465 new licenses to different manufacturers in the current year and a proposal for the issuance of foreign manufacturing unit licences will be submitted for approval in the next board of directors meeting.

Federal minister said that the PSQCA was initially only operating through North and South zones but in order to make it more effective its operations have been extended to six independent conformity assessment zones including Karachi, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan and Peshawar.

The PSQCA chief also said that Pakistan participated in the elections of Standard and Metrological Institute for Islamic countries (SMIIC) and received the highest number of votes.

Hussain asked PSQCA to launch an effective media campaign to spread awareness among the general public regarding the water quality issues.

He also directed all the regional directors of PSQCA to submit a progress report to the ministry with details of the actions taken in their respective areas on fortnightly basis.

Hussain also directed PSQCA to ensure the prompt implementation of the decisions taken by the board of directors to further streamline the affairs of PSQCA.