Accurate measurement is a public good. Evaluate India's metrology infrastructure in light of recent initiatives such as eMaap and One Nation, One Time.

Accurate measurement is a public good: one buyer's trust in a calibrated petrol pump, electricity meter or BP monitor costs no other buyer anything. The Legal Metrology Act, 2009 says weights and measures must be verified and stamped before they are used in trade [1]. Recent initiatives have modernised the system, but enforcement still lags behind.

Strengths

• Institutional base: NPL holds the national prototypes of the metre and kilogram. RRSLs verify standards across states, and IILM Ranchi trains officers [1].
• eMaap: one national portal for online registration of manufacturers, dealers, repairers, importers and packers. It connects state systems to the Centre, which helps Ease of Doing Business [1].
• One Nation, One Time: DoCA, NPL and ISRO send out IST at millisecond-to-microsecond accuracy through five Legal Metrology laboratories. This serves banking, power grids and 5G, and it reduces dependence on GPS [1].
• Global integration: in 2023 India became the 13th country allowed to issue OIML certificates, so its exporters avoid repeat testing [1]. India is also hosting the 61st CIML meeting in New Delhi for the first time [4].
• Trust-based regulation: the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 decriminalised seven sections of the Act. The 2026 Act added an improvement notice for first-time lapses [1].

Gaps

• Uneven digitisation: in 2024, eMaap did not yet handle enforcement or compounding of offences online [3]. A trader warned in one state can be treated as a first-timer in the next.
• Private verification: since October 2025, Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs) can verify 18 categories of instruments [1]. Yet the 29th Standing Committee Report (2009) warned that private testers could collude with traders, and it recommended keeping verification with the states [2].
• Centre–State mismatch: the Centre now makes the rules, but inspections depend on State Legal Metrology Officers [1][2].

Way forward

• Put enforcement records on eMaap in every state.
• Publish how GATCs are audited, and fund State departments through central grants, as the Committee urged [2].
• Use the CIML meeting to push for OIML certification that MSMEs can afford [4].

India now has a sound measurement backbone with global recognition, and eMaap and One Nation, One Time are real upgrades. Its value as a public good, however, depends on last-mile enforcement. Stronger State capacity and closer oversight of GATCs would make accurate measurement a guarantee for every consumer and advance SDG 9 [1].