The Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), best known as Pakistan Standards ) is an independent federal agency under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) whose mission is to regulate the quality assurance and control by through the promotion of science and fostering to regulate the importance of metrology which is essential for Pakistan's innovation and economic uplift.
Certification of the Pakistan brands are issued by the agency as Pakistan Standards (PS) label.
History
In 1950, the Ali Khan administration announced to establish the "Pakistan Standards Institute" to ensure the supply of standard quality goods. In 1951, the "Pakistan Standards Institute" was established under the Ministry of Industry (MoI) and was responsible for preparing and establishing national standards for the developing industries.
The PSQCA was formed through the passage of the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority Act, 1996 by the Parliament of Pakistan.Pakistan Standards And Quality Control Authority: The Sole National Standards Body of Pakistan Business Recorder (newspaper), Published 15 October 2016, Retrieved 3 September 2020Role of Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority in International Standardisation in Pakistan supporting Global Trade Business Recorder (newspaper), Published 14 October 2011, Retrieved 3 September 2020
On 16 February 2022, the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology approved transfer of head office of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to Islamabad from Karachi.
Organization The Authority is composed of the following four departments:
Standards Development Center The Directorate of Standards, also known as Standards Development Centre, SDC is responsible for the development of Pakistan Standards, adoption of International Standards by consensus involving Stakeholders (manufacturers, government and regulatory bodies, consumers, scientists and technologists, academia and testing laboratories) through its technical divisions.
Organization SDC has 177 Technical Committees along with 12 technical divisions. Technical divisions are: Agriculture and Food Division Automobile Division (formed; 2014) Chemical Division Civil Division Electrical Division Electronics Division Halaal Division Information Technology (IT) and Information Communication Technology (ICT), Division Management Standards System (MSS) Mechanical Division Textile Division Weights & Measure Division
Achievements SDC has established 6094 Pakistan Standards, and adopted 9185 ISO, 6202 IEC, 2 OIML, 634 ASTM, 21 Codex Alimentarius (CAC) and 15 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Standards.
Quality Control Center The Quality Control Centre (QCC) is a multifunctional testing laboratory which test quality of food, building materials (cement), papers & textiles, sugar, Microbiology, beverages and Water. QCC is organized in six sections. It can test 107 different items, including 38 food, 28 electrical, 02 auto vehicles, 03 animal feed, 3 textile, 14 civil/building materials, 6 washing/cosmetics, 2 steel, 9 chemical division and 4 fertilizer items. History The formal Central Testing Laboratory merged into Pakistan Standards Quality Control Authority under Act VI of 1996, after the Promulgation of the Pakistan Standards Quality Control Authority and was renamed as Quality Control Centre. In 2014, all labs of Quality Control Centre(QCC Karachi) i.e. Microbiology, Water & beverages lab, Sugar Lab, Oil & Fats and Building Material (Cement) Lab were accredited. Organization Quality control centers are located at Karachi (with chemical, microbiology and physical sections), Lahore (chemical, microbiology and physical sections), Peshawar (chemical, microbiology and physical sections) and Quetta (chemical section).
Technical Services Center
System Certifications Center
International activities Affiliations PSQCA is a member of the following international organizations:
International Organization for Standardization International Electrotechnical Commission International Organization of Legal Metrology World Trade Organization IECEE/CEE
Relations with foreign nations and organisation PSQCA has memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with following countries:
PSQCA has established relations with following organizations: American National Standards Institute ASTM International Deutsches Institut für Normung
References
External links PSQCA official website Ministry of Science and Technology