The Centre’s National Test House (NTH) will set up testing capabilities for testing electric vehicles and EV-charging systems from next fiscal year. This is part of the various new initiatives being undertaken by the government to make the 110-year-old NTH future-ready, which aims to garner revenues of ₹30 crore by FY 2024.

Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, Consumer Affairs Ministry, said, “The demand for electric vehicles is growing, whether for public procurement or for personal use by consumers. NTH will begin offering testing facilities for EVs and EV charging systems by next fiscal at its Mumbai and Kolkata facilities.”

BIS has already formulated the performance standards for EV batteries. Currently, the International Centre for Automotive Technology and the Automatic Research Association of India (ARAI) are providing testing facilities for electric vehicles in the country.

Outlining other modernisation initiatives to make NTH future-ready, Khare said that the Gati Shakti portal is being leveraged to identify gaps in testing infrastructure in the country. “NTH is also reaching out to industry associations and manufacturing associations to build a robust testing ecosystem and fill in any gaps,” she added.

Transformer testing

In line with this strategy, NTH plans to set up a state-of-the-art transformer testing facility in Jaipur, Rajasthan, with an investment of ₹125 crore. Earlier transformer manufacturers, which are largely located in North India, had to transport their transformers to ERDA, Vadodara, and CPRI Bhopal/Bangalore, for short circuit tests and other tests involving time and huge transportation costs. “This testing facility is being created at the transformer manufacturing hub and will reduce the transportation cost and time taken in getting transformer samples tested,” Khare said.

NTH is now also registered in the Government eMarket (GeM) as a service provider in the category “Testing and Calibration Service” to meet the testing needs of all government departments, CABs, PSUs, etc. It is also expanding its services for water testing and fertiliser testing, among others, including rock phosphate. It is also strengthening its presence in the north-eastern region.

NTH expects to close FY23 with revenues of ₹25 crore and aims to garner growth of 20–25 per cent year-on-year and close FY24 at ₹30 crore, said NTH DG Alok Kumar Shrivastava.

Headquartered in Kolkata, NTH has six regional offices at locations including Mumbai, Chennai, Ghaziabad, Jaipur, and Guwahati.

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