Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday, 29 August called for transforming the National Test House (NTH) into a globally recognised testing and certification body whose certificates carry worldwide acceptance, as India accelerates its push to become a premier manufacturing destination. The minister made the remarks while addressing the 115th Foundation Day celebration of NTH in New Delhi, where he also inaugurated a new state-of-the-art building for the organisation.

The Case for a Global-Grade NTH

Joshi framed the transformation of NTH as central to India's manufacturing ambitions, arguing that a credible domestic certification body is a prerequisite for the country's industrial scale-up. 'The only thing we need is a good testing facility. People should feel that if there is an NTH certificate then we can take that product with our eyes closed. This arrangement has to be made by NTH,' he said.

The minister noted that despite NTH's growing capabilities, some government tenders still require certification from foreign agencies and laboratories — a gap he urged NTH to close by building greater awareness among state governments and government departments.

Corporate Restructuring on the Table

Joshi said the government is exploring converting NTH into a company structure to allow it to operate with greater commercial responsibility and accountability. 'We will try to make it a company where this company which issues the certificate, worldwide its acceptance should be there,' he said. The proposed restructuring, if implemented, would mark a significant shift in how NTH — currently a government body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry — operates and competes internationally.

Expansion into Emerging Sectors

The minister specifically called on NTH to extend its testing capabilities into high-growth sectors including electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy, aerospace, defence, and electronics. He highlighted the newly inaugurated EV battery testing facility in Bengaluru as a model for the kind of infrastructure India needs to ensure product safety and reliability at scale.

NTH has already expanded its testing portfolio to cover coal, solar water heaters, solar modules, and pressure cookers, and has launched the NTH Suvidha application for online submission of products for testing and digital receipt of results.

Growing International Footprint

Joshi pointed to testing samples received from Sri Lanka, Dubai, Bahrain, and Bhutan as evidence of NTH's rising international profile. He also noted that NTH's annual turnover had grown from ₹10–20 crore earlier to approximately ₹50 crore, though he called for far more aggressive expansion in line with India's 2047 manufacturing hub target.

'Quality is the foundation of a strong India,' Joshi said, underlining that robust testing and certification infrastructure would be indispensable to sustaining India's industrial growth trajectory. With NTH's corporate restructuring under active consideration, the coming months could define whether India's flagship testing body makes the leap from a domestic utility to a globally trusted certification authority.