CSIR-National Physical Laboratory is the custodian of national measurement standards through an act of Parliament and provides traceability to SI units in India. CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi in association with Metrology Society of India (MSI) organized the World Metrology Day on 20th May 2022 to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention on 20th May 1875. The theme for World Metrology Day 2022 was “Metrology in the Digital Era”, announced jointly by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) and the International Organisation of Legal Metrology (OIML).

This theme was chosen for introducing digital measurement frameworks and requirements for an open and transparent exchange of digital information technology for revolutionising the scientific community, improving processes and providing the way for new opportunities through new digital initiatives in metrology.

The event was inaugurated by Dr D. K. Aswal, Director of Health, Safety and Environment at BARC along with Prof. A. K. Grover, Chairman, Research Council of CSIR-NPL, Prof. Venugopal Achanta, Director CSIR-NPL and Dr. Sanjay Yadav, Vice-President, MSI. The event began with the welcome address by Prof. Venugopal Achanta. Prof. A. K. Grover addressed the gathering and highlighted the importance of metrology and role of NPL as NMI in this direction. Dr. Sanjay Yadav Introduced about vision and mission of MSI and its activities held over last one year. The keynote address was delivered by Dr. D. K. Aswal and he emphasized on digital transformation in metrology and its impact on Quality Infrastructure in India. He also stressed NPL should work on certified time dissemination to the users as cyber secure functionality of entire digital infrastructure depends on accurate time stamping.

On this occasion, World Metrology Day poster was released by the dignitaries. Three Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravyas (BNDs®) namely, BND 6019 for gas, BND 4203 and BND 4204 for gold alloys, respectively, were also released. India’s first Robotic Mass Comparator was also inaugurated during this event. Robotic mass comparator is a unique facility and state-of-art facility that serves both the fundamental research and highly accurate automatic measurement in mass. The automation will help in significant reduction and potential elimination of manual handling risks and ensure highest accuracy in weights calibration. It brings many benefits to the scientist, metrologists, industries and all the stakeholders throughout the country.  

A technical session was chaired by Dr. Ranjana Mehrotra, Vice-President, MSI. First talk was delivered by Dr. Daniel Hutzschenreuter from PTB, Braunschweig, Germany on the topic “Metrology for Digital Transformation”. The second talk of the session was delivered by Prof. C.J. Tsai from Institute of Environmental Engineering, NYMCT University, Taiwan on the topic “QA/QC of standard PM monitors and smart air sensors”.  The event was concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. S. K. Jaiswal, Sr. Pr. Scientist, CSIR-NPL.

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