<p><strong>Haider Ali Khan</strong><br><br>The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has acquired ISO 9001:2008 certificate for monitoring, planning, development and maintenance of highway infrastructure and road transport throughout the country.<br><br>The ISO certificate will be applicable to all the wings of the Ministry at the head quarters in New Delhi, including the offices of the Union Minister and Minister of State, covering more than 700 employees. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is probably the first largest Ministry of Government of India to achieve this feat.<br><br>Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping received the certificate of Indian Register Quality Systems (IRQS) in New Delhi on Monday (12 October).<br><br>Speaking on the occasion Gadkari highlighted the importance of administrative efficiency as the most vital ingredient for the successful working of an organisation.<br><br>He said, “A quick and transparent decision making process, backed by decentralized power structure and a system of performance audit would go a long way in ensuring that departments are able to achieve the development work that they set out to do.”<br><br>International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) is an internationally recognized and preferred quality management system standard that enables one to demonstrate commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. Implementation of ISO 9001:2008 was started in 2012-13.<br><br>In order to get the ISO certificate the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways developed its quality manual and standard operating procedures in accordance with the requirements of ISO standards. After the internal audit by the Ministry, the certificating body appointed by Quality Council of India conducted two stages of audit and found the quality management system of the Ministry for performing its services to the citizens of India in accordance with the ISO standards.<br> </p>
