Hi,

Most of us are familiar with different level of certifications (Green, Black, MBB etc) for 6Sigma. Is there such certifications exisiting for Lean? (Except from SME).

There are a number of institutions that offer accredited certification, most of which are in North America or Japan. While I am not certain about in India specifically, don't let that hang you up.
While there is no belts no agreed standard as to "levels" per-say, there is a common (in my experience) strategy of three tires in many education institutes and among Lean leaders.
1) Basic theory, introduction to concepts history, case-in-point (AKA book knowledge).
2) Basic Practice, hands on training and experience in leading small kaizens and using some of the lean tools to accomplish measurable results.
3) "Full certification" would be multiple team leadership (or entire program management of) of several small kaizens or one to a few larger scale kaizens using most, if not all of the lean tools, with measurable change; as well, at this level, often the completion of test(s) and in some cases a theses, or similar paper must be submitted to the certification institute. Getting to the latter is often a 2-4 year course, and can be done while working in your current environment (assuming you are part of developing a lean enterprise), in fact better that way, as your workplace becomes your practical.
Some institutes simply use "bronze", "silver" and "gold" for the above, but again, I have not seen a solid standard on this.

In terms of education, I personally have found LEI, (Lean enterprise Institute) to be one of the best. They gather skilled, proven teachers from around the globe and show consistency in there understanding of all elements of lean, human psychology and proper ethics of leadership. Many of the teachers they have have worked with or mentored with top gurus. While they do not have a certification course specifically, they could likely customize one. You don't need to be in the same country for such certification, provided language is not an issue.

A couple of notes of caution. Don't consider official certification as the be all and end all of lean wisdom. I have been doing lean actions for years, before I knew it was called lean, and my history and continued education speaks to my abilities. Many people I know simply read, follow the gurus, go to training continuously and "get on with it".
The other side of this is that, not all educational institutes are the same! Lean seems to be so often muddled and complicated with false, or perhaps better said, "skewed" methods that do not always align to the true nature of, nor the best methods of. Kind of like spiritual belief systems ;)
Be careful in who you choose as an educator. Best to get aligned with the following first:
* Lean Thinking, Second Edition
* The Gold Mine
* The Lean Manager
* The Toyota Way
* Lean Simplifyed

I advise authors such as Pascal Dennis, James Wommack, Norman Bodek, Shigeo Shingo, Taiichi Ohno to get you rooted.



While a path to certification is nicely structured and you will get more direct guidance, it is not fundamentally "necessary"to achieve a good career in the Lean field. It depends on how you are built; do what works for your brain and life!