"We will not yield to any kind of pressure," he said at a press conference on the recent performance of Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) in conducting mobile court operation in the market.

He also said the government is going to undertake a Tk 503 crore project to expand the BSTI activities to at least 20 districts.

Besides, a project financed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation to enhance its technical capacity is also underway.

But his ministry has no plan to update the existing BSTI Act to make it more rigorous.

The act was once amended in 2003, Nizami said, adding that it is more important to instil honesty in people than making provisions with harsher punishment.

The BSTI has been suffering from severe manpower shortage, with only 11 field officers engaged in monitoring the standard of products across the country.

Moreover, it has to depend on the metropolitan magistrate court or district magistrate court, as it has no designated magistrate to conduct a mobile court.

The BSTI realised Tk 27.25 lakh in fines from 279 establishments during 2003-2004 and Tk 77.28 lakh from 696 establishments during 2004-2005. A total of 22 people were also jailed, said the minister.