Realistically three: an initial sample to validate the concept, a revised sample fixing the obvious misses, and a pre-production (PP) sample that must match what actually ships. If you're on round five and still rejecting, the spec sheet is the problem, not the factory, tighten what you're asking for instead of hoping the next sample magically gets it right.
3 resources, 1 India-specific, 3 link-checked.
An Indian export house's ground-level account of how many sample rounds are normal and what each one is actually checking for.
From kbexports.com by KB Exports
Makes the direct case for treating the pre-production sample as your last checkpoint before a batch you can't easily undo.
From ninghowapparel.com by Ninghow Apparel
One of the most-cited independent explainers of AQL in the sourcing world, written by inspectors who actually apply it in the field.
From qualityinspection.org by QualityInspection.org
The same ground, over in Build the product, our Starting Up track.
