CSIR-National Physical Laboratory is going to organize the ‘One Week One Lab’ program

Newdelhi:14/4/23:Did you know that CSIR-NPL is the custodian of Indian Standard Time (IST), generated using an atomic timescale consisting of Cesium atomic clocks and Hydrogen masers. Not just that, IST is kept traceable within few nanoseconds to the international reference time UTC (coordinated Universal Time) using ultra-precise satellite links. Come and witness how CSIR-NPL keeps the nation’s time ticking!

Did you know that the CSIR-NPL standardises the measurements of gas and airborne particles for monitoring atmospheric pollution?

Did you know that the ‘election ink’ or the indelible ink used during elections to mark out voters who have exercised their franchise, was developed at CSIR-NPL in 1952, and is considered one of the most significant contributions to Indian democracy?

Did you know that CSIR-NPL has developed the technology to recycle the enormous amount of plastic waste that India creates daily into colourful tiles?

Now is the time to get first-hand acquaintance with all these wonders of science at CSIR-NPL, which is opening its doors to general public under the ‘One Week, One Lab’ programme, from 17-21 April 2023.

Union Minister (S&T) Dr. Jitendra Singh recently announced a unique campaign, called “One Week -One Lab” in which all labs of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will reach out to public to not only showcase their technologies but also to ignite the minds of young innovators, students, start-ups, academia, and industry to look for opportunities through deep tech ventures. In the “One Week, One Lab” campaign, in successive weeks, each of the CSIR labs is showcasing their exclusive innovations and technological breakthroughs to the people of India. The CSIR laboratories are unique and specialize in the specific areas which span from genome to geology, food to fuel, minerals to materials, and so on.

CSIR-NPL Director, Prof Venugopal Achanta said, “CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is going to organize the One Week- One Lab program from 17-21 April, 2023. The aim of this program is to create awareness about the available technologies and services present at NPL among potential stakeholders, to provide solutions to societal problems, to sensitize the masses about importance of precise measurements and to develop the scientific temperament among masses especially amongst students who are the future of the country”.

CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL-India) is mandated to be India’s “National Metrology Institute” (NMI) by the act of Parliament and is the custodian of “National Standards” with a responsibility of the dissemination of measurements to the needs of the Country. CSIR-NPL is critically engaged in the development of India’s measurement standards that are internationally accepted and disseminating the measurement capabilities to industry, government, strategic and academia that underpin the India’s prosperity and quality of life.

It preserves and maintains the measurement standards of length, mass, temperature etc including the task of dissemination of the Indian Standard Time (IST). NPL is conducting multidisciplinary R&D with a mission to establish the futuristic quantum standards and upcoming technologies so that India remains on par with international measurement laboratories. It is developing sophisticated analytical equipment (i.e. import substitutes) under “Make in India” programme to cater the ever increasing demands of emerging India and training of young scientists and industry personnel in the area of measurements under “Skill India” programme.

“The “One Week-One Lab” program at CSIR-NPL comprises of several different activities, which will start from the press meet on April 14, 2023 (Friday, 12 Noon) at Press Club of India (PCI), New Delhi. The campaign will be inaugurated on April 17th by Honourable Minister Dr Jitendra Singh ji in the presence of Director General- CSIR, Dr.. N. Kalaiselvi. The major focus of the inaugural day is the Interaction with School/College students. The students from various schools and colleges in Delhi-NCR will be participating in the program. Quiz competition and lab visits are two of the many activities scheduled for the day. The students will have the opportunity to interact with the NPL scientists,” added Prof Achanta.