Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food  & Public Distribution and Textiles during the fourth Governing Council Meeting  of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), recently, released handbook on the subject “Safety in Electrical Installations – A way forward to Safety by National Electrical Code of India” and Guide for Using National Building Code of India 2016. Along with these two important documents, three pamphlets for awareness of general public about their rights and duties while constructing their own home or buying one from a builder are also developed.

The handbook on Safety in Electrical Installations is jointly developed by BIS and International Cooper Association (ICA) India. This handbook will create awareness about Electrical Safety and provides technical guidance for wiring installations in buildings. The design, installation and other features provided in the handbook will help in understanding the purpose and application in a simplistic way. This will help electrical engineers and technicians to understand the basic need and procedure for safe and reliable electrical Low Voltage installations.

National Building Code of India 2016 (NBC 2016) is a technical document in which all provisions relating to planning, design, construction and operation and maintenance of buildings are covered. Implementation of these codal provisions ensures minimum required level for the safety, health, amenity, accessibility and sustainability of buildings. In order to promote the use of NBC 2016, this simplified guide for using the Code has been brought out by BIS for all stakeholders like academicians, students, building authorities, builders, and most importantly building professionals like architects, engineers, plumbers, etc. for understanding the contents of various Parts/Sections of the Code and their interconnection. For an easy understanding of the technical information provided in the voluminous Code of more than 2200 pages, the key contents and concept of each of the thirteen parts of NBC 2016 have been laid down in the booklet using infographics and simplified language.

The three pamphlets will also guide on the ways to take better services from not only municipal bodies and statutory authorities but also from all building professionals (engineer, architect, etc.) whom they should engage for a safe and sustainable home. These pamphlets have been published in both Hindi and English and are titles as: Guide for Homeowners – Series 1 Building Permit Process, Guide for Homeowners – Series 2 Constructing your Independent House, Guide for Homeowners – Series 3 Buying an Apartment from a Developer/Builder.

With the help of flowchart and checklists, these pamphlets explain the process of obtaining the permits from the Authority for development or building construction, and also guides homeowners and homebuyers about the various aspects they must ensure while buying or building a home.

Special attention has been taken to ensure that the contents of these manuals are lucid in nature so that the common public can easily comprehend the technical content and utility of standards formulated by BIS.

These documents can be accessed from the below links :-

Guide for Homeowners

https://www.bis.gov.in/index.php/guide-for-homeowners-and-homebuyers/

NBC Simplified Guide

https://www.bis.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Booklet-Guide-for-Using-NBC- 2016.pdf

Handbook on “Safety in Electrical Installations – A way forward to Safety by National Electrical Code of India”

https://www.bis.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Handbook-_Electrical-safety-

_Final.pdf

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