In a big boost to manufacturers of weights, measures and other equipment used for measurements, the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) has authorised India to issue globally recognised certificates for legal metrology.

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India will now be able to grant OIML certification to domestic as well as foreign manufacturers of certain products, and is the 13th country in the world to be given this authorisation. Australia, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are the other countries that are authorised to grant this certification.

The South Asian country can also confer the mandatory OIML Pattern Approval certificates to weights and measures for sale in the international market, as the reports prepared by the Legal Metrology’s Regional Reference Standards Laboratories (RRSL) are now acceptable to the OIML issuing authorities. This implies that India's domestic manufacturers can now export their weighing and measuring instruments worldwide without incurring any additional testing fees, hence saving on the costs incurred till now.

India's Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) defines Legal Metrology as the application of legal requirements to measurements and measuring instruments.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told CNBC-TV18 that India can also earn foreign exchange as fees for evaluating and issuing OIML pattern approval certificates from its certified RRSLs to foreign manufacturers. Initially, India will start providing certification for eight sets of equipment and will expand the ambit further with OIML's due diligence for more types of equipment.

With RRSL labs already functional in Ahmedabad, Varanasi and Guwahati. India has already been approached by many European manufacturers for certification. The Secretary explained that many overseas manufacturers are approaching India for certification due to lower costs and shorter queues for approval.

Despite needing OIML certification from abroad, India has exported measuring instruments worth Rs. 600 crores in the last three years. The Department of Consumer Affairs expressed confidence that OIML certification will help boost India's global trade with better harmonisation of standards, lower redundancy and lesser compliance costs.

OIML is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1955 with 63 member states and 64 corresponding members. India is slated to host an OIML meeting in March 2024.

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(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Sept 14, 2023 10:00 PM IST