India is one of the largest users of IEC 61850 Standard in its substation automation projects together with China. However Indian contribution to the standardization efforts is almost nil.
The standardization efforts of IEC TC57 is conducted by the National Mirror Committee and BIS or Bureau of Indian Standards is responsible for the creation and maintenance of National Mirror Committees for TC57. LITD 10, Power System Control and Association Communications is the National Mirror Committee that should look into efforts of IEC 61850.
However, this committee is mostly dormant and does not involve technical experts in IEC 61850 who can contribute to the IEC 61850 Standardization efforts. India being one of the initial adopters of this standard, the Indian market a very large market for IEC 61850, and the IEC 61850 expanding its scope of work into newer areas, it is imperative that if Indian industry, academia and research institutions want to take mileage and create competitive advantage and drive these efforts, they actively involve in these efforts. This is the only way, India ever can dream of getting into the same league of China in product development and localization in power technologies, that enhances its long term strategic capability to compete with European and American products as well as enter these markets on equal footing. The fact that we have a large enough domestic market should be a chance one should never let go and the Indian government should ensure that the Industry makes good use of the millions of dollars of tax payers money that is spent in India being member of ISO and IEC.
As Professor Sadagopan mentioned at the MAIT / BIS Seminar and interactive session during the visit of ISO Secretary General to Bangalore on 7th December 2007, being part of the IEEE standardization efforts is a recognition of ones technical competence and acceptance by your peers. However, in India, the same is not so with the BIS National Mirror Committees for ISO and IEC.
MAIT Director General in the said meeting, mentioned that the Indian industry participation in standardization for IT (Information Technology) in the national mirror committees is nil, it also indicates the state of Indian IT industry. Indian IT sector is still services focused as well as externally focused with a conformance attitude to western standards, with very less product innovations or product research and development efforts happening. Without an ecosystem being created that promotes efforts by experts in the Industry to participate and contribute to these efforts, and a realization that being part of standardization is a competitive advantage that will drive businesses in the future, be it services or products or IP, there is no way Indian industry is going to be take active part in these efforts. To be part of standardization efforts require expertise that is beyond the skill set of business process or technology adoption, but a more in-depth involvement in the way the technology and business process will drive the future, and collaborating in building a basis for this future road-map.
The fact that BIS comes under the Ministry of Food is another indicator about the overall government focus which is primitive and the need of the day 30-40 years ago, but not now in a services and technology driven market growth. And driven by Bureaucrats rather than technologists in most cases is another indicator of the state of standardization in India, where administrative control and direction is driven by government priorities rather than market necessities. After independence, maybe the key factors that drove standardization might have been food and consumer affairs. However today the standardization globally has expanded beyond these, and India standardization efforts also should broaden its horizon too. There is still a great need to protect the consumers and hence BIS has a big role to play. However, maybe there are highly technical areas or domains where these need to move out of BIS, for eg., the standardization for communications should not be handled by BIS but by a separate national communication standardization body, and maybe CEA (Central Electricity Authority) should drive the efforts in the Electrical Industry.
Without active participation, and maybe multiple standardization efforts that addresses the relevant technical needs of the various committees of ISO / IEC, and an effort in creating an ecosystem right across our academic, national research labs as well as industries, Indian contribution to these efforts shall never be note-worthy. It would be good, if BIS leaves some of the tasks in standardization to some other National Labs or centers of excellence within the Industry, Academia or Central Research Institutes in the relevant area. This would surely help in ensuring that the drivers and expertise is available for the relevant topics.
Also looking at the constitution of some of the National Mirror Committees, the effort seems to be more on accommodating the large companies or industries or National Labs that work in a specific space. However, there has been no effort in ensuring that the people who are active in the standardization efforts are experts in their own merit in the said space. Most of the standardization effort participants in most developed economies are independent experts and consultants or small technology company players in addition to representatives from large companies and national labs. Without such efforts, there is going to be no way forward. Having MD's and CEO's of various companies, may not really ensure that there is contribution happening. As in the IEEE, an expert who contributes on his free will, would also likes to be acknowledged for his or her contribution, that peer recognition what he or she values more. However, if you have the senior management in the Committees, there is no way an expert is going to do a good job at it, other than ensuring that what his Company or MD or CEO wishes are suggested. Unless India is able to create such an ecosystem that foster interaction and discussion among experts and active industry and academic participation, our standardization efforts are never going to come out of the current state of copy/paste or conformance.
A reference to PAC World magazine IEC 61850 cover story indicates the years of discussion and debate that went into the development of IEC 61850, and shows how important it is that there is open and free flow of debate and discussion in Indian mirror committees before we ever get into a stage where India will be able to rightfully contribute. However if BIS, the Indian industry and the academia does not get involved in creating an ecosystem that discusses threadbare IEC 61850 as it is today and participates in the international standardization efforts, there is no way India is ever going to get out if its perpetual state of being in conformance to IEC 61850 standard rather than being able to contribute to standards.
As Mr. Bryden, the ISO Secretary General mentioned, India should move from being in-credible India to credible India and hopefully we all will reach there sometime in the next century.
