India has strengthened its national quality and measurement infrastructure with the inauguration of two apex-level calibration facilities at the CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL). The new facilities aim to support indigenous measurement, certification, and quality assurance across key sectors of the economy.
CSIR-NPL, the country’s apex metrology institution and custodian of national measurement standards, is marking eight decades of service as India’s National Metrology Institute. Over the years, the laboratory has played a central role in establishing reference measurements that support research institutions, manufacturing units, municipal bodies, and strategic sectors, with direct implications for industrial quality, fair trade, environmental reliability, and public safety.
One of the newly inaugurated facilities is the National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration (NPF-SCC), designed to provide a world-class system for evaluating the performance of reference solar cells and photovoltaic panels. Developed using a laser-based Differential Spectral Responsivity Primary Reference Measurement System in collaboration with Germany’s PTB, the facility enables the measurement of short-circuit current of reference solar cells with an uncertainty of ±0.35 per cent, among the lowest globally.
The establishment of NPF-SCC has created a complete domestic traceability chain for photovoltaic metrology, reducing dependence on overseas calibration laboratories and significantly shortening turnaround times for Indian solar manufacturers. It also allows calibration certificates to be issued based on Indian climatic, humidity, and dust conditions, supporting the country’s expanding solar manufacturing ecosystem, rooftop solar initiatives, and export-oriented production under PLI-linked programmes.
The second facility, the National Environmental Standard Laboratory (NESL), has been set up to test and recalibrate instruments used for air pollution monitoring and environmental sensing under Indian environmental conditions. Previously, most such equipment relied on foreign certifications based on European or US weather profiles, which often affected the long-term accuracy and reliability of data in India’s diverse climatic and pollution conditions.
NESL enables manufacturers, industries, and municipal agencies to validate equipment performance domestically, strengthening the credibility of data used in initiatives such as the National Clean Air Programme, industrial emission audits, and smart city monitoring networks. The laboratory also provides reference gases, testing protocols, and uncertainty evaluation services, contributing to greater transparency and public trust in environmental data.
Together, the two facilities are expected to benefit MSMEs, start-ups, and indigenous manufacturers by lowering the cost of quality validation, helping them comply with increasingly stringent regulatory standards, and addressing trade and certification barriers more effectively.
The facilities were established with financial support from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, reflecting strong inter-ministerial collaboration in building world-class scientific infrastructure within the country.
CSIR-NPL also noted that it continues to work on advanced areas such as quantum standards, materials and biomedical metrology, and the maintenance of Indian Standard Time, reaffirming its commitment to precision, innovation, and India’s long-term economic and technological progress.
