National Physical Laboratory of India - Calibrator of Weights and Measures

Calibrator of Weights and Measures

The standards maintained at NPL are periodically compared with standards maintained at other National Metrological Institutes in the world as well as the BIPM in Paris. This exercise ensures that Indian national standards are equivalent to those of the rest of the world.

Any measurement made in a country should be directly or indirectly linked to the national standards of the country, For this purpose, a chain of laboratories are set up in different states of the country. The weights and measures used in daily life are tested in the laboratories and certified. It is the responsibility of the NPL to calibrate the measurement standards in these laboratories at different levels. In this manner, the measurements made in any part of the country are linked to the national standards and through them to the international standards.

The weights and balances used in local markets and other areas are expected to be certified by the Department of Weights and Measures of the local government. Working standards of these local departments should, in turn, be calibrated against the state level standards or any other laboratory which is entitled to do so. The state level laboratories are required to get their standards calibrated from the NPL at the national level which is equivalent to the international standards.