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National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories

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National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories (NABL)
AbbreviationNABL
PredecessorNCTCF[1]
Merged intoQuality Council of India
Formation1988; 36 years ago (1988)
FoundersDepartment of Science and Technology (India)
TypeAutonomous
PurposeAccreditation services
Professional title
NABL
HeadquartersGurgaon
Location
Region served
Pan India, International
ServicesAccreditation Services
Key people
N. Venkateswaran
(CEO)
Main organ
Governing Body
AffiliationsDepartment for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)
Government of India
Staff
100-200
Websitenablindia.org

National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) provides accreditation to Conformity Assessment Bodies (Laboratories) in India. NABL Schemes include Accreditation (Recognition) of Technical competence of testing, calibration, medical testing laboratories, Proficiency testing providers (PTP) & Reference Material Producers (RMP) for a specific scope following ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 15189, ISO/IEC 17043[2] & ISO 17034:2016[3] Standards. It has Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC), International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

NABL is a constituent board of Quality Council of India which is an autonomous body setup under Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.[4]

NABL provides accreditation in all major fields of Science and Engineering such as Biological, Chemical, Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical, Fluid-Flow, Non-Destructive, Photometry, Radiological, Thermal & Forensics disciplines under testing facilities and Electro-Technical, Mechanical, Fluid Flow, Thermal, Optical & Radiological disciplines under Calibration facilities. In the field of Medical Testing laboratories accreditation is granted in Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Pathology, Haematology & Immunohaematology, Microbiology & Serology, Histopathology, Cytopathology, Genetics, Nuclear Medicine (In-vitro tests only) disciplines. In addition, NABL offers accreditation for Proficiency testing providers & Reference Material producers for which it has APAC and ILAC MRA.

Benefits of accreditation

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NABL is a Full member (ILAC MRA signatory) to ILAC[5] as well as APAC Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA),[6] based on mutual evaluation and acceptance of other MRA Partner laboratory accreditation systems. Such international arrangements facilitate acceptance of test / calibration results between countries to which MRA partners represent.

This developing system of international mutual recognition agreements between accreditation bodies has enabled accredited laboratories to achieve a form of international recognition, and allowed test data accompanying exported goods to be readily accepted on overseas markets amongst the countries which have already qualified as significant to ILAC Arrangements.[7] This effectively reduces costs for both the exporters and the importers, as it reduces or eliminates the need for products to be re-tested in another country.

NABL accreditation is the recognised by various government bodies[8] and regulators. In India, NABL accreditation is usually the precursor to various government/ regulator/ statutory body recognition's.

NABL being a governmental body conducts integrated assessments with regulators such as FSSAI, EIC, APEDA, etc. Integrated assessments simplify the process of recognition, as the laboratory can get accredited and recognized by the regulator in one combined assessment instead of the separate multiple assessments which are usually needed.

[9] [10] [11] [12]

Services provided by NABL

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NABL provides accreditation to:

  1. Testing laboratories as per ISO/IEC 17025
  2. Calibration laboratories as per ISO/IEC 17025
  3. Medical testing laboratories as per ISO 15189
  4. Proficiency Testing Providers (PTP) as per ISO/IEC 17043
  5. Reference Material Producers (RMP) as per ISO 17034

Laboratory Conclaves

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NABL conducts laboratory conclaves yearly.[13] In 2019, the 8th National Conclave for Laboratories was conducted in Chennai.[14]

World Accreditation Day (WAD)

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NABL celebrates World Accreditation Day (WAD) every year on 9 June. World accreditation day is celebrated to provide awareness on accreditation and how accreditation benefits its stakeholders.[15]

Scope of accreditation

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NABL's scope for accreditation extends to:-

Testing Laboratories: Biological, Chemical, Diagnostic Radiology QA testing, Electrical, Electronics, Fluid-Flow, Forensic, Mechanical, Non-Destructive testing, Photometry, Radiological and Software & IT system testing.

Calibration Laboratories: Electro-Technical, Mechanical, Fluid Flow, Thermal & Optical, Radiological, Thermal.

Medical Laboratories: Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Pathology, Haematology and Immuno-haematology, Microbiology and Infectious Disease Serology, Molecular Testing, Medical Imaging, Histopathology, Cytopathology, Flow cytometry, Cytogenetics, Genetics, Nuclear Medicine (in-vitro tests only).

Applying for NABL Accreditation

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Laboratories seeking NABL Accreditation can apply on NABL Web Portal.

References

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  1. ^ Chandra (1988). "National Measurement System in India". 1988 Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements. pp. 257–258. doi:10.1109/CPEM.1988.671284. S2CID 109948339.
  2. ^ "ISO/IEC 17043:2010". www.iso.org. 17 March 2010.
  3. ^ "ISO 17034:2016". www.iso.org.
  4. ^ Yadav S, Mandal G, et al. (11 May 2021). "75th Foundation Day of CSIR-National Physical Laboratory: Celebration of Achievements in Metrology for National Growth". MAPAN-Journal Metrology Society of India. 36 (1): 1–32. doi:10.1007/s12647-021-00442-4. PMC 8110472.
  5. ^ "ILAC Signatory". ILAC. 25 January 2018.
  6. ^ "APAC MRA Signatory". APAC. 12 May 2012.
  7. ^ Aswal, DK (30 May 2020). "Quality Infrastructure of India and Its Importance for Inclusive National Growth". MAPAN-Journal Metrology Society of India. 35 (2): 139–150. doi:10.1007/s12647-020-00376-3. PMC 7261038.
  8. ^ "Supreme Court directs approved govt, private labs to conduct free testing for Covid-19". The Print. 8 April 2020.
  9. ^ Sinha M, Saini S, et al. (2018). "Current status and way forward for National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories Accreditation of Laboratories in Government Organizations". Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology. 61 (3): 461–463. doi:10.4103/IJPM.IJPM_630_17. PMID 30004086. S2CID 51623808.
  10. ^ Verma, M; Dahiya, K; Ghalaut, VS; Dhupper, V (2018). "Assessment of quality control system by sigma metrics and quality goal index ratio: A roadmap towards preparation for NABL". World Journal of Methodology. 8 (3): 44–50. doi:10.5662/wjm.v8.i3.44. PMC 6275555. PMID 30519539.
  11. ^ Handoo, Anil; Sood, Swaroop Krishan (June 2012). "Clinical laboratory accreditation in India". Clinics in Laboratory Medicine. 32 (2): 281–292. doi:10.1016/j.cll.2012.04.009. PMID 22727005.
  12. ^ V, Umanath; Alam, Nasna Rasheeda; A, Vidya Gayathri. "ISO/IEC 17025:1999 - Compliance to Clinical Laboratory and Process of Accreditation". Journal of the Academy of Hospital Administration. 18 (1).
  13. ^ "Sakshi Telugu Daily Chennai City epaper dated Sun, 15 Dec 19". epaper.sakshi.com (in Telugu).
  14. ^ "Annual national conclave of NABL". The Times of India.
  15. ^ "World Accreditation Day celebration". The Economic Times. 10 June 2020.
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