The Quality Council of India (QCI) and the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding on 9 July 2026 in New Delhi to create an integrated support ecosystem for India’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The partnership brings together QCI’s expertise in quality assurance, accreditation and certification with NSIC’s nationwide MSME support network. The objective is to give small businesses a seamless pathway from quality certification to digital commerce and global market access.
Quality Council of India and NSIC: A Strategic Partnership
QCI is India’s national accreditation body, established in 1997 as an autonomous, non-profit society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It operates on a public-private partnership model, with the Government of India and three industry associations, ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI, as its joint promoters. The nodal ministry is the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. QCI functions through five constituent boards: NABL (laboratories), NABH (hospitals), NABCB (certification bodies), NABET (education and training) and NBQP (quality promotion). It also implements the MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme on behalf of the Ministry of MSME.
NSIC, on the other hand, is a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, established in 1955. Headquartered at NSIC Bhawan in Okhla, New Delhi, it is an ISO 9001:2015 certified organisation. NSIC’s mission is to promote and support MSMEs by providing integrated services across marketing, technology, finance and other support areas. It operates through a countrywide network of offices, technical services centres, and training cum incubation centres.
What the MoU Envisions
The MoU aims to create a unified support framework that connects every stage of an MSME’s growth journey. The partnership is designed around a clear pipeline: Quality Certification to Digital Commerce to Market Visibility to Market Access. By combining QCI’s accreditation ecosystem with NSIC’s outreach and support mechanisms, the initiative seeks to help MSMEs adopt globally recognised quality standards, strengthen their digital presence and compete more effectively in domestic and international markets.
The partnership integrates several existing national programmes under a single umbrella. These include the MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme, MSME Global Mart, the Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) Initiative and the Single Point Registration Scheme (SPRS). The convergence of these initiatives through a single institutional partnership is intended to simplify access for MSMEs and reduce the fragmentation that often prevents small businesses from leveraging multiple government schemes.
Key National Initiatives Integrated Under the MoU
MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification
The Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) Certification is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of MSME, implemented by QCI. First conceptualised after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call in 2014 for Indian industry to manufacture goods with zero defects and zero effect on the environment, the scheme was formally launched in April 2022. It is a voluntary certification that assesses MSMEs on parameters including quality, safety, production, cleanliness, energy efficiency and environmental impact.
ZED certification has three levels: Bronze (₹10,000), Silver (₹40,000) and Gold (₹90,000). The Ministry provides a subsidy of 80% for micro enterprises, 60% for small enterprises and 50% for medium enterprises. An additional subsidy of 10% is available for enterprises owned by women, SC/ST entrepreneurs, or those located in the Northeast, Himalayan, LWE-affected, island territories or aspirational districts.
Under the MoU, ZED-certified MSMEs will receive enhanced support for digital commerce and market access. The partnership also aims to promote wider adoption of ZED certification by leveraging NSIC’s extensive outreach network across the country.
MSME Global Mart and the TEAM Initiative
MSME Global Mart is a B2B online marketplace operated by NSIC, launched in November 2020. It provides MSMEs with a digital platform to showcase their products, access trade leads, receive tender alerts and connect with buyers in India and abroad. The portal lists nearly 88,000 products across 87 categories and has disseminated over 8.88 lakh tenders worth more than ₹58,000 crore.
The Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) Initiative was launched in June 2024 with a budget of ₹277.35 crore for three years under the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) programme. It aims to onboard 5 lakh micro and small enterprises onto the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), with at least 50% being women-led businesses. ONDC is a government-backed open protocol launched in April 2022 by DPIIT that aims to democratise e-commerce by creating an interoperable network, similar to how UPI transformed digital payments.
Under the MoU, ZED-certified MSMEs will get priority onboarding onto ONDC through the TEAM Initiative and MSME Global Mart, along with AI-enabled product cataloguing and export promotion through dedicated digital platforms.
Single Point Registration Scheme
The Single Point Registration Scheme (SPRS) is operated by NSIC to enable micro and small enterprises to participate in government procurement. Units registered under SPRS get benefits under the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012, which mandates a minimum 25% annual procurement from MSEs by all central government ministries, departments and public sector undertakings. Registered enterprises are also exempted from paying earnest money deposits and tender fees.
The MoU seeks to strengthen the convergence between ZED certification and SPRS, so that quality-certified MSMEs can more easily access government procurement opportunities.
Digital Commerce and Export Promotion
A central pillar of the partnership is the push for digital commerce adoption among MSMEs. Under the MoU, ZED-certified enterprises will get enhanced opportunities to onboard onto the ONDC network through the TEAM Initiative. This includes support for creating ONDC-compliant digital catalogues, AI-enabled product listings and account management through Seller Network Partners (SNPs).
MSME Global Mart will serve as the primary B2B platform for these enterprises, providing access to buyers across India and international markets. The platform’s e-Country Pavilion feature, which showcases Indian products to partner countries, will be leveraged for export promotion. Additionally, the partnership will support NABL accreditation for NSIC’s testing facilities, which will enable MSMEs to get their products tested and certified against global standards within the same institutional network. This reduces the time and cost involved in multiple separate certifications.
NABET-led assessment and customised capacity-building programmes for NSIC training centres and laboratories will further strengthen the skilling ecosystem for MSMEs. These initiatives are designed to ensure that MSMEs not only produce quality goods but also have the digital tools and testing infrastructure to access new markets.
Implementation and Oversight
To ensure effective execution of the partnership, QCI and NSIC will set up a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) comprising representatives from both organisations. The JCC will meet every quarter to review progress, identify new areas for collaboration and guide the implementation of joint initiatives throughout the five-year duration of the MoU.
The MoU was signed at the QCI office in the World Trade Centre, New Delhi, in the presence of senior officials including Dr. Subhransu Sekhar Acharya, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of NSIC; Dr. A. Raj, Senior Director and Head of the National Division for Industry Excellence (NDIE) at QCI; and the Chief Executive Officers of NABL and NABET.
Broader Significance for India’s MSME Sector
India’s MSME sector remains the backbone of the country’s industrial economy. According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, MSMEs account for approximately 35.4% of manufacturing output, 48.58% of exports and 31.1% of GDP. The sector comprises over 7.47 crore enterprises employing more than 32.82 crore people, making it the second-largest employer after agriculture.
Despite its size, the sector faces persistent challenges: low technology adoption, limited access to quality certification, fragmented market access and difficulty in meeting international quality standards. The QCI-NSIC partnership directly addresses these structural gaps by creating a single institutional bridge between quality assurance and market connectivity.
The partnership also aligns with the broader national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, which envisions India as a developed nation with globally competitive manufacturing and services sectors. By connecting quality certification with digital commerce platforms such as ONDC and MSME Global Mart, the initiative positions MSMEs to participate more effectively in global supply chains. The partnership demonstrates how institutional convergence between two national bodies can address multi-dimensional challenges in India’s economic landscape.
Key Takeaways
- The Quality Council of India (QCI) and National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed a five-year MoU on 9 July 2026 to boost MSME quality, competitiveness and market access.
- QCI, established in 1997, is India’s national accreditation body operating under DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with five constituent boards: NABL, NABH, NABCB, NABET and NBQP.
- NSIC, established in 1955, is a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of MSME, providing marketing, technology, finance and support services to MSMEs.
- The MoU integrates four key schemes: MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification, MSME Global Mart, the TEAM Initiative and the Single Point Registration Scheme (SPRS).
- The TEAM Initiative, launched in June 2024 with a budget of ₹277.35 crore, aims to onboard 5 lakh MSEs onto the ONDC network.
- A Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) with representatives from both organisations will meet quarterly to monitor progress over the MoU’s five-year tenure.
