New Delhi, March 22 -- From the everyday shirts and pants worn by millions, the government has introduced a new set of quality norms to bring long-overdue uniformity to a segment that has largely operated without common benchmarks.

According to a government order released earlier this month, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has introduced a new set of standards covering woven shirts and trousers. With consumers purchasing these garments across a wide price spectrum-from local markets to high-end retail outlets-the new norms aim to establish a uniform baseline of quality across segments.

The new standards for woven shirts, for instance, formalizes specifications around stitching durability, dimensional stability and colour retention-...