In a development that will boost domestic exports, India has joined the group of countries authorised to certify “measuring and weighing instruments” based on globally accepted standards.
A Paris-based IOLM-approved certificate is compulsory to sell weighing or measuring instruments in the international market.
India is now the 13th country in the world that can certify such instruments, reported PTI.
The International Organization of Legal Metrology (IOLM), established in 1955, is an intergovernmental organization that develops model regulations and standards for use by legal metrology authorities and industry.
India became a member in 1956.
Consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh announced India was recently offered to become an IOLM certificate issuing authority.
“We are now the 13th country in the world to be authorized for issuing OIML approval certificates,” he told reporters.
Other countries that are authorised to do so are: Australia, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, and Slovakia.
Singh said that a separate division in the ministry will be set up to look into IOLM certification.
A laboratory will also be established at Ahmedabad, Gujarat for testing initially eight sets of instruments like energy meters, water meters, automatic and manual weighting machines, etc., he said.
Domestic manufacturers can now export their weighing and measuring instruments worldwide without incurring additional testing fees, resulting in significant cost savings.
Singh said the country exported Rs 600 crore worth of measuring instruments in the last three years. The exports will rise further with India becoming an IOLM certificate-issuing nation.
Besides, India can also support foreign manufacturers by issuing IOLM pattern approval certificates from its certified RRSLs, thereby generating forex in terms of fees, etc., he added.
