The World Bank’s World Development Report 2025 on Standards for Development: Global Lessons, India’s Case Study, and the Road Ahead
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 16: Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
NITI Aayog | Ministry of Commerce & Industry | Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
The World Development Report 2025 – Standards for Development argues that standards are the invisible systems that make modern economies function—ensuring quality, safety, interoperability, and trust. They underpin global trade (now shaped more by standards than tariffs), enable technology diffusion, and strengthen public services.
Across sectors, the report shows that:
Firms gain productivity and export competitiveness when they adopt standards.
Health and education improve when process and performance standards are clear and realistic.
Environmental norms such as fuel economy, pollution control, and energy efficiency are crucial for green transitions.
Governance standards in procurement, budgeting, and HR enhance transparency and reduce corruption.
A central warning is the compliance gap: ambitious standards without the capacity to enforce them can widen inequality, raise costs for MSMEs, and weaken institutional credibility. The report recommends tiered standards, strong quality infrastructure, and deeper LMIC participation in ISO, IEC, ITU to shape global norms.
India Features Prominently as a Case Study of How Standards Underpin State-Building and Industrial Modernisation
India appears throughout the WDR as an example of standards enabling national integration, sectoral reform, and digital transformation.
State-Building and Infrastructure
The shift to the metric system (1956–62) unified hundreds of fragmented measurement systems.
Project Unigauge (completed 2022) converted all rail tracks to broad gauge, creating seamless national connectivity.
Industrial and Environmental Standards
Bharat Stage I–VI emission norms closely aligned with EU standards and helped reduce air pollution.
Catalytic converter mandates contributed to declines in infant mortality.
Appliance efficiency standards (LEDs, ACs) cut emissions and expanded energy access.
Human Capital Standards
Clinical childbirth checklists reduced maternal deaths by 47%.
Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) and school sanitation norms improved foundational learning and girls’ enrollment.
Digital Standards and Interoperability
India Stack (Aadhaar, UPI, e-KYC) demonstrates how open digital standards expand inclusion: districts with higher UPI adoption saw 8% higher household income growth and 2% greater business ownership (2018–22).
Bodies such as TSDSI show India’s growing role in shaping telecom standards.
Governance Standards
India’s use of standardised recruitment, procurement rules, and BIS-led Quality Control Orders is noted—though implementation costs and uneven state capacity remain challenges.
Path Forward for India
1. Strengthen and Rationalise Quality Infrastructure (QI)
Expand metrology, testing, and certification facilities in priority sectors (food safety, pharmaceuticals, renewables, digital hardware).
Reduce duplication across BIS, sector regulators, and ministries; expand public–private partnerships for conformity assessment.
2. Use Tiered and Performance-Based Standards
Apply tiered norms for environment, schools, health facilities, and MSME-heavy sectors to match varying state capacities.
Prioritize performance standards (emission levels, learning outcomes) over rigid technical prescriptions.
3. Link Standards to Industrial and Export Strategy
Provide subsidised certification for MSMEs; integrate global standards into PLI schemes and procurement.
Leverage FDI for supplier upgrading and standards diffusion.
4. Expand India’s Role in International Standard-Setting
Increase participation in ISO, IEC, ITU, 3GPP, and oneM2M, especially for AI, 5G/6G, quantum, and climate-tech norms.
Support Indian experts’ long-term engagement in technical committees.
5. Manage Compliance Burdens and Administrative Costs
Pilot major governance standards before nationwide rollout; calibrate enforcement by state capacity.
Reduce MSME burdens via digital audits, remote certification, and blockchain-based traceability.
Follow the full report here: World Development Report 2025: STANDARDS FOR DEVELOPMEN