New Delhi: Chairman and Managing Director of Johnson Controls- Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd., Gurmeet Singh, who has been the President of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Manufacturers Association of India (RAMA) during 2016-18, has been re-elected as the President of RAMA for the next term i.e. 2018-20.
This is for the first time in the history of RAMA that the same person has been elected twice consecutively as the President. The President’s Elections were held in RAMA’s office in Jul’18.
RAMA is an apex forum of the industry leaders and representatives of major manufacturers including MNCs in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning industry in India. It plays a pivotal role in the growth of the industry and ensures that the industry delivers the best technology products in the global competitive scenario. It also represents India in various National and International forums related to the interest of HVAC industry. It is affiliated to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
During the tenure of Gurmeet Singh as the President for 2016-18, RAMA undertook many key initiatives in liaison with various industrial and government bodies for the growth of the Indian AC industry. Some of the notable initiatives are:
- RAMA took a lead role in the implementation of Quality Control Orders (QCO). QCO is a government initiative which ensures the Quality products to be produced and delivered. RAMA took an initiative to work with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for updating Indian Standards related to products under QCO to align Indian quality standards and practices with the international ones.
- RAMA successfully worked with Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE) on developing Testing and Rating Standard for Chillers. This has been adopted as an Indian Standard by BIS. It is working closely with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to implement an Energy Labelling Program to the Chillers under which from January 2019, Star Ratings for Chillers will be in a voluntary phase and from 2021, it will become mandatory.
- RAMA is a key industry stakeholder and is working closely with the Ozone Cell, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change to create a National Cooling Action Plan (NCAP) in line with the Kigali Agreement. The focus is on ensuring sustainable growth of Room ACs with energy efficient and climate-safe refrigerants.
- RAMA also undertakes industry awareness campaigns which include awareness workshops etc. for both organized and unorganized sector for various Government of India’s initiatives like HCFCs Phase-out Management Plan.
While thanking the members of RAMA for assigning the responsibility to head the Association, Gurmeet Singh said “It is a great honour to head such a prestigious association for a second tenure. The satisfaction of the end customers has always been a key priority at Hitachi and I hope that we will be able to carry this forward across the industry by being a part of RAMA. RAMA is an apex industry forum and we have been working diligently over the last few years, coordinating with manufacturers, Industry bodies, and National and International government regulatory bodies so that we all can work in synergy to deliver the quality products. We hope to carry forward the same and take the industry standards to the next level.”
Gurmeet Singh who has more than 30 years of Industry experience and has been associated with brand Hitachi for more than 18 years, has also been appointed as the Vice President (North Region) of CEAMA (Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association).
RAMA and CEAMA, both are two top industry bodies that closely monitor the HVAC and other allied industries and are also working with Government bodies in industry-related policy formation. He has also won the “Man of Appliances” award by CEAMA in 2016 for his outstanding contribution to the appliances industry.
