How a century-old testing lab is helping drone manufacturers take flight

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₹1 to ₹1.5 lakh for the entire certification process, depending on the size of the drone," Khare told Mint. This fee is the lowest in the industry, making NTH an attractive choice for manufacturers looking for affordable certification services, the secretary said. Currently, only a few private agencies are engaged in testing these sub-parts and they charge between ₹10 lakh and ₹14 lakh for the certification.

UL India Pvt. Ltd, TQ Cert Services Pvt. Ltd, Bureau Veritas (India) Pvt.

Ltd, SGS India Pvt. Ltd, and MS Certification Services Pvt. Ltd are some of the leading private agencies involved in drone certification.

Queries emailed to all, except MS Certification Services, were not answered till press time. “The testing conducted by NTH is transparent, which is not the case with private agencies," said a senior scientist at the agency, who did not want to be named. Besides, the agency is adopting the latest testing technologies to match those of its private peers, the scientist added.

NTH, which has its headquarters in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, is establishing a state-of-the-art integrated test facility for drone testing, Khare said. “The procurement of necessary test equipment is currently underway, with the facility expected to be operational within the next six months. This integrated facility will significantly reduce costs for drone manufacturers by eliminating the need for testing drone parts at multiple laboratories across the country," she said.