National Test House (NTH), Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution recently celebrated its 115th Foundation Day at its Jakkuru Campus in Bengaluru.
On this occasion, several new testing facilities and initiatives across the National Test House (NTH) network were inaugurated virtually. These included a Coal Testing Facility at Kolkata, Solar Water Heater Testing Facility at Chennai, Utensils Testing Facility at Jaipur, NTH Suvidha mobile application, and the NTH Laboratory at Deendayal Hastkala Sankul (Trade Centre), Varanasi.
What is National Test House (NTH)?
- NTH is India’s premier multi-location, multidisciplinary central government testing laboratory under the Department of Consumer Affairs.
- Established: Founded in 1912 in Kolkata (then Calcutta) under the Railway Board as the Government Test House.
- Parent Ministry: Operates under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
- Core Mandate: Provides testing, calibration, and quality evaluation of raw materials and finished industrial products.
- Network: Operates regional branches and labs in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Ghaziabad, Jaipur, Guwahati, Varanasi, and Bengaluru.
Key Functions and Services
- Testing & Calibration: Covers chemical, biological, civil, mechanical, electrical, and non-destructive testing disciplines.
- Specialized Certification: Serves as India’s pioneering government body for drone (UAS) testing and certification.
- Standard Support: Assists the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) with standard formulation and laboratory accreditations.
- Digital Operations: Utilizes the NTH-MIS portal for a fully digital, transparent, and paperless customer interaction workflow.
- International Support: It also tests samples for neighbouring and international countries such as Sri Lanka, Dubai, Bahrain, and Bhutan.