The NBSM is waiting for the final approval for the NS certification from the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), India. NBSM Director General Ram Adhar Sah said that Indian accreditation bodies had recently conducted a final assessment for the purpose.

“They have approved the capacity of our laboratories, investigating mechanism and human resources that are

used to assess the products before awarding them the NS mark,” said Sah at a programme on Monday.

The NS mark is the quality assurance that the NBSM has been providing to various Nepali products. Products certified with the NS mark are considered to be of good quality to be sold in the domestic market.

According to the NBSM, the Indian board is set to provide international recognition to the NS certification that has been awarded to Nepali instant noodles, GI wire, GI pipe, cement and bottled water. The bureau itself has recently received accreditation for its laboratories used to test the quality of these products. “We have been approved for testing 28 parameters of these products by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories,” said Sah.  

The NBSM has been issuing the NS logo to products that meet the standards related to manufacturing procedures and product quality besides the necessary compliances for physical security. The government has made it mandatory to obtain the NS logo for 12 products including dry cell, LPG regulator and valve, gas cylinder, PVC cable, GI wire, GI sheet, iron rod and cement.

Sah said they had also planned to promote the NBSM as the National Accreditation Focal Point in the country.

“Towards this end, we have signed a memorandum of

understanding with the NABCB to provide the necessary support,” he added. According to him, Pacific Accreditation Corporation, an association of accreditation bodies of certification, has been supporting capacity building at the NBSM.

The NBSM has received accreditation to issue ISO 9001:2008, a quality system certification from the NABCB. The bureau said it would begin work to obtain international recognition for its laboratories used to test cement, textile, volume and temperature by the end of this fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the NBSM has honoured five companies with the NS Quality Award for their outstanding performance in 2012-13. Among the recipients, Asian Paints of Hetauda got top honours for its enamel paint.

Similarly, Panchakanya Plastic of Bhairahawa has been honoured for its HDPE pipe and Pashupati Filter Candle Udyog for its LPG regulator in the categories of medium and small-scale factories respectively. Likewise, Panchakanya Plastic Industries and Nepal Cylinder Industries received letters of appreciation.