BSC opens Mumbai base after deal with leading Indian safety trainer
20 Nov 2017
India’s leading safety training organisation has joined forces with the British Safety Council in order to improve protection for the country’s 465 million-strong workforce.
NIST Institute is partnering the BSC to deliver services for the newly established British Safety Council (India) office in Mumbai.
BSC chair Lynda Armstrong said: “Over the years, we have worked with some of the largest Indian businesses, giving them access to the best health and safety expertise from around the world, while focusing on best practice assurance.
“By opening our office in India, we will build on this. In partnership with NIST, we will be able to cost-effectively provide our full range of products and services and support a more diverse range of customers.”
The British Safety Council is an organisation whose values align very closely with our own
Antony Selvaraj, chairman and managing director, NIST
The British Safety Council has been providing products and services to India for 30 years from its UK base but the collaboration with NIST and opening of a local office represents a significant departure for the organisation.
Antony Selvaraj, NIST chairman and managing director, said that as India’s leading training organisation, the institute had traditionally been reluctant to consider partnership deals.
“However, the British Safety Council not only provides us with the opportunity to expand our business in support of its goals but also to increase the range of products and services which we provide to our customers. [It] is an organisation whose values align very closely with our own.”
The BSC’s new Indian operation will be headed by its first country manager, Hemant Sethi (pictured, interviewed at launch opening).
Speaking at the launch, Sethi commented: “I’m delighted to join the British Safety Council at such an exciting time.
“Not only do we have the opportunity to better support our existing customers, but by working with NIST, we will now be able to provide our full range of products and services to all businesses across India, irrespective of their size, sector or location.”
Interest in workplace safety has grown recently in the country, where the level of fatalities is 20 times higher than in Britain.
Just one in five workers are covered by the country’s existing health and safety rules and there is just one factory inspector for more than 500 registered factories.
The construction industry is the worst offender, accounting for nearly a quarter of all deaths, compared with one fifth in the UK.
