New Delhi, Dec. 3 -- India has begun one of its most sweeping standards overhauls in recent years, withdrawing 22 quality control orders (QCOs) over the past month while simultaneously issuing a fresh set of upgraded standards across telecom networks, fibre optics, lifts, domestic gas stoves and cybersecurity.

The moves-announced through multiple notifications over the past month-ease compliance pressures and mark a shift towards modernising India's technical rulebook, as the country expands its digital and urban infrastructure at an unprecedented pace.

Fifteen QCOs were withdrawn in mid-November and another seven on Monday, many of which covered petrochemical intermediates critical for downstream industries, including plastics and poly...