India’s Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act of 1963 created the Export Inspection Council, “set up by the Government of India under Section 3” of the Act. Goods notified under the Act need “mandatory pre-shipment inspection and certification prior to export from India,” the council states.
Made for Export Only
In October 2022, four cough syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals, a company in Haryana, were linked to the deaths of 66 children in Gambia. India’s health ministry said the medicines were “manufactured for export purposes only.”
On May 22, 2023, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued Notification No. 06/2023. From June 1, 2023, cough syrup could be exported only after a sample had been tested in a designated laboratory and a certificate of analysis had been issued.
The Export Model
Global NCAP crash-tested the Maruti Suzuki Swift built for the Indian market. It received zero stars for adult occupant protection.
South Africa also gets its Swifts from Indian factories. “All of SA’s 1.2-litre Suzuki Swift models are sourced from India, but they do have airbags,” Suzuki South Africa said. The country receives the “Latin American export specification” version. According to the company, the Global NCAP test of the export model “resulted in a three-star rating.”
The Wall in Ahmedabad
In February 2020, before Donald Trump’s visit to Ahmedabad, the city’s municipal corporation built a wall along a road from the airport. It ran in front of a slum of more than 500 houses. An official said: “The 6-7 feet high wall is being erected to cover the slum area on an estimated 600-metre stretch.” The civic body called it part of a beautification drive.
Screens for the Summit
Before the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, “makeshift corrugated plastic walls were erected to hide slums from the visiting delegates’ gaze,” the Irish Times reported. A resident told the paper he had been “made to vanish.” After the summit, The Quint published photographs titled “Before & After: Delhi Slums See Light of Day As Green Sheets Disappear Post G20.”
Roads for the Prime Minister
Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow in Bengaluru in May 2023, The News Minute reported that “last-minute asphalting is being carried out on the roads that will be used by his convoy.” At the same time, residents of Jayanagar protested about potholes on a road that had been damaged for six years.
Near Mangaluru, a stretch of road was resurfaced and a bridge was painted before Modi’s visit on September 2, 2022. On September 13, The Logical Indian reported that “the asphalt is peeling in many places due to its substandard quality.”
The Survey Team
Swachh Survekshan means cleanliness survey. Before one such survey of Indian cities, Deccan Herald reported that Bengaluru’s civic body planned to “keep the streets as shiny as possible to get favourable scores.” Officers were told that “the surprise visit is usually held in March.”
In Alot, Madhya Pradesh, residents told the Free Press Journal that “whatever little cleaning has been done is only to show to the Swachhta Survekshan team.” The council said the team had chosen the sites to inspect from Google Maps.
Fit for Exports
In Outlook India, a figure from the food industry asked: “Don’t our domestic consumers deserve the same quality we think is fit for exports?” Reporting on chilies rejected by China and mangoes rejected by Japan, The News Minute asked the same question: “who is ensuring the same standards for food consumed within India?”
Export Surplus
In Delhi’s street markets, vendors and buyers call some clothes “export surplus.” The Patriot explains: “it is export material for foreign countries that are sold in India at cheap prices because of minor defects.” The Tribune wrote from Bathinda that the defects “usually are so miniscule that they go unnoticed by customers in the open markets.”
Tea from Geneva
J.R.D. Tata flew on Air India often and sent detailed observations to its management after his flights. In a note of 1951 he wrote: “The tea served on board from Geneva is, without exaggeration, indistinguishable in colour from the coffee.” He asked the station manager in Geneva to look into it, and added: “I want that the passengers who travel with us do not have occasion to complain.”