India has established the world’s second ‘National Environmental Standard Laboratory’ at the CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NP). This move is targeted to develop testing and calibration capabilities for air pollution monitoring instruments, which will enable the country to cut its dependence on foreign instruments.
As per a report by the Times of India, today, most air-quality monitoring systems in India are imported and are approved according to the environmental conditions in the countries from which they are sourced. The CSIR scientists reveal that the systems are known to give inaccurate results when they are put to use in the different climate conditions in India. Until now, there has been a similar laboratory in the UK.
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Enhancing domestic production and global reach
The new lab will further make it possible for India to produce standardised equipment for monitoring air pollution, meeting the requirements of the country. Going forward, the production is expected to make the country self-reliant and start exporting the equipment to other developing nations. Today, the value of the air pollution monitoring system market worldwide is close to $4 billion.
Union Science & Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, who inaugurated the laboratory during the 80th Foundation Day celebrations of the CSIR-NPL, termed this development as a "critical step towards strengthening India’s environmental governance framework." While inaugurating the laboratory, he said that now, with India-specific calibration & certification of environmental parameters, transparent, traceable, and accurate data will be generated.
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Boosting solar energy measurement standards
Along with the air pollution facility, Singh also inaugurated the National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration at the Solar Energy Complex. The facility will place India among a select few countries with advanced photovoltaic measurement standards. Singh termed it a “future-ready facility” that would cut dependence on foreign certification, save foreign exchange, reduce calibration timelines, and shore up investor confidence in India’s growing solar sector.
