ICMR-BIS develop national standards for essential assistive products

New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), has successfully developed comprehensive national standards for the National List of Essential Assistive Products.

The joint effort was specifically aimed at harmonising Indian standards with global benchmarks, including ISO and WHO-APL frameworks, thereby ensuring that assistive products developed, validated, and deployed within India adhere to consistent quality and performance parameters, official sources said.

Assistive products are fundamental in enhancing functional independence, mobility, communication, and overall quality of life for individuals with functional impairments and elderly persons.

Therefore, the establishment and adherence to robust national standards for 21 products included in the National List of Essential Assistive Products (NLEAP) constitute a critical national priority, the sources said as these were unveiled on Thursday.

Standardisation across design, manufacturing, testing, and service delivery is essential to ensuring quality, safety, and equitable access for all users.

This collaboration also strengthens the ecosystem for clinical validation, regulatory approval, and large-scale public procurement, enabling India to establish a robust, evidence-based framework for assistive technology provisioning and innovation, the sources said.

Adopting and implementing these ICMR-BIS-supported robust standards is crucial to realising India's vision of ‘Access to Assistive Technology for All’, they said.

“These standards will ensure safety and efficacy. The standards establish clear benchmarks for product performance, safety, and reliability, minimising harm and ensuring the products meet essential clinical and user requirements,” an official source said.

Defined standards enable systematic evaluation and clinical validation of products, fostering trust among clinicians, users, and policymakers prior to public health programme inclusion. PTI PLB ARI