India to introduce new design seal of quality

(Feng Yu)

The India Design Council is to introduce a new sign of approval called the "I' mark," the Times of India reported.

"The project is looking at introducing a mark that will assure the design aspect of a product," Pradyuman Vyas, director of India's National Institute of Design (NID), told the paper. "The mark will assure a certain process that the product's design would have gone through to ensure that not only the quality but also the ingredients and the way of production is design-sensitive."

The award will not only guarantee a minimum design standard but also sustainability of the product. "[It] signifies the social relevance of the product where levels of pollution and carbon emission are also taken into consideration," said Vyas.

More details are expected to be released in December. According to the Times of India, the country has similar seals of quality for electrical products (ISI) and food (AgMark).

Comparable marks in other countries are the Red Dot in Germany, the Index in Denmark, or the Good Design Award in Japan.

The Indian announcement follows growing efforts by Chinese authorities to develop and protect China's design industries, having just launched the 'Innovation instead of Imitation' scheme to this end.