Govt to update SNI standards

JAKARTA: The Office of the State Minister for Research and Technology plans to facilitate the overhaul of national standards established under the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) as many of them have become outdated.

"Many standards are not compatible any more with the current situation," said the head of the standardization office, Rudiama Sugama.

For example, about 80 percent of some 600 product standards on agriculture were now obsolete. Altogether, 60 percent of all standards set out under the SNI could not be used anymore, he said.

To replace those outdated standards, Rudiama said his Office would introduce a program, to be called the Indonesian National Standard Initiative (ISNI), for industrial users in 2003.

To encourage standardization of products by small and medium enterprises, Rudiama said the government would provide financial incentives for them to join the ISNI. --Antara