NEW DELHI: Government-owned National Test House (NTH) is now authorised to test and certify new drones, giving a major relief to domestic manufacturers. This would reduce the wait time for testing their products as well as the cost.
NTH is the first government agency to get this authorisation. At present, there are only three private players who give such certification in India. NTH will charge almost half of what private players are charging now, officials said.
Union food and consumer affairs minister, Piyush Goyal virtually inaugurated the drone certification facility at the Ghaziabad centre of the NTH.
“There is a long waiting time for getting certification by manufacturers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones. With the NTH getting go ahead as a certification body and authorised testing entity under the Drone Rules, now the manufacturers will have more options. Since it’s a government entity, the charges will be less and it will focus on high quality products. Being a premier scientific government laboratory it uses its extensive knowledge and experience with standards, regulations and legislation in dealing with clients of this industry,” said an official.