CSIR–National Physical Laboratory (CSIR–NPL) marked its 80th foundation day with the inauguration of two national-level metrology facilities in New Delhi on 05 January 2026. The facilities comprise the world’s second National Environmental Standard Laboratory and the world’s fifth National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration, expanding India’s domestic calibration and measurement infrastructure for environmental monitoring and renewable energy applications.
In an official statement, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said the National Environmental Standard Laboratory would support India’s environmental governance framework by enabling India-specific calibration and certification of air pollution monitoring instruments. The facility is designed to test equipment under Indian climatic conditions, with the objective of improving the reliability, traceability, and accuracy of environmental data used by regulators, industry, and research institutions.
The environmental laboratory is expected to support implementation of air quality regulations by ensuring that monitoring systems used across cities and industrial zones meet calibrated performance benchmarks. By providing domestic calibration capabilities, the laboratory reduces reliance on overseas facilities and is intended to improve consistency in data used for policy enforcement and compliance assessment.
The National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration was inaugurated as part of a dedicated solar energy complex at the NPL campus. According to the official statement, the facility has been developed in collaboration with Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Germany. It incorporates a laser-based Differential Spectral Responsivity (L-DSR) system with a reported calibration uncertainty of 0.35 percent (k=2) for reference solar cells.
The solar calibration facility is intended to enable domestic certification of photovoltaic devices and reference cells, which are currently sent abroad for primary calibration. Officials stated that the availability of a national primary standard is expected to reduce certification timelines, lower foreign exchange outgo, and provide traceable measurement standards for India’s expanding solar manufacturing and deployment ecosystem.
During the foundation day event, CSIR–NPL highlighted its historical role in India’s scientific infrastructure, including its long-standing responsibility for maintaining Indian Standard Time through atomic clock systems. The laboratory was established prior to Independence and is one of the earliest institutes under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) network.
The event also saw the release of fourteen phytochemical Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya reference materials developed jointly by CSIR–NPL and CSIR–CIMAP, along with two gas reference materials and one silica fume reference material. Several memoranda of understanding and technology transfer agreements were concluded with industry and research partners to support domestic manufacturing and metrological traceability.
CSIR–NPL is India’s national metrology institute and is responsible for the development and maintenance of national measurement standards across physical, chemical, and biological domains, supporting industry, regulation, and scientific research nationwide.
