National Test House (N.W.R.)

31-03-2021

The National Test House [NTH], formerly known as Government Test House celebrated its 88th anniversary in the year 2000. This was indeed an occasion for remembrance and reminiscence of the dedicated services rendered by this unique institution to the nation. It is definitely a landmark in its path of progress over the last 89 years of its existence. Established way back in 1912 in Calcutta by the then Railway Board to cater to the needs of the Indian Railways, the function of NTH was to check the suitability of indigenously manufactured stores for use by the Indian Railway and also to stipulate the quality requirements of Railways. In 1922 Indian Stores Department on the recommendation of the Industrial Commission absorbed NTH for regular testing of the general stores required by the Defense Department till 1929. In 1934 the Industrial Intelligence and Research Bureau later re-designated as Industrial Research Bureau was formed by the Government of India and was housed and nurtured in NTH for conducting researches on problems directly connected with the indigenous development of raw materials. This Bureau formed the nucleus to which present day CSIR owes its origin. The significant contributions of the Research section of NTH in the field of applied research proved to be of national importance. In 1936-37, the NTH shouldered a major responsibility in organizing a Road Test Track on behalf of the Department of Communication. All special machinery such as Power Tractors were designed by the NTH and fabricated locally. This was a pioneering attempt in carrying out Road Tests in the country. Thus NTH travelled a long way and established its importance in the panorama of the Indian industry. Since independence, the responsibilities devolving on the NTH have increased manifold. The Government of India felt the necessity of import substitution and export promotion for building up a sound economy and fiscal base in the country. The NTH has actively associated itself with the product development in both the industrial and agriculture sectors. It has been actively involved in all aspects of technology connected with industry, commerce, trade, import substitution, export promotion and standardization. It has assisted in the development of indigenous industries and served as a vital link between industrial research and manufacture of finished products with rigid quality control of both raw materials and finished products. The NTH has been an active partner in standardization and formulation of National Standards and has the proud privilege of assisting Indian Standards Institution presently known as Bureau of Indian Standards since its inception in 1947. NTH also rendered valuable assistance to the RDSO of Indian Railways in drawing up specifications for load test of Cast Steel Center Buffer Couplers, new types of Screw Couplings and Draw Hooks, etc. in their initial stages of development, has undertaken a number of investigation tests on a co-operative basis in collaboration with Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi, etc. in connection with development of indigenous products, formulation of standards and fixation of quality level of products