Key Development

Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, will inaugurate a newly built, state-of-the-art Chemical Laboratory at the National Test House (NTH) in Ghaziabad on Monday. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs confirmed the development in an official statement, highlighting the lab’s critical role in supporting industries, regulatory bodies, and academic institutions through accurate and advanced testing services.

Lab to Support Testing of Key Industrial and Consumer Products

The new laboratory at NTH will offer comprehensive testing services for a wide range of products, including packaged drinking water, natural mineral water, food packaging materials, enamelled and insulated wires (aluminium and copper), coal, petroleum coke, bitumen, enamel paints, anti-skid products, filtration media (such as sand and gravel), and white and coloured chalk. In addition, the lab will play a central role in testing building materials, cement, water, metals, alloys, paper, plastics, organic compounds, and fertilisers, strengthening quality assurance across sectors.

National and International Accreditation Secured

The laboratory holds accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) under ISO/IEC 17025:2017. It also operates under approvals from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Outside Laboratory Scheme, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and the Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985.

Engineers and scientists at the facility will work with cutting-edge equipment such as an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS), an Inductively Coupled Plasma – Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES), an Optical Emission Spectrometer (OES), a Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and an Ion Chromatograph. These technologies will enable high-precision testing and complex analysis across multiple materials.

Boost to Education, Research, and Industry Collaboration

Beyond testing, the lab will support training, research, and collaborative projects with universities, engineering institutions, and industries. This move aims to strengthen India’s scientific infrastructure and foster a more robust industrial quality ecosystem.

Source: Livemint