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GATC Network at 51 Centres as Legal Metrology Test Rules Widen to 23 Instrument Categories — UPSC Current Affairs 2026

Polity & Governance15 Sept 2026

GATC Network at 51 Centres as Legal Metrology Test Rules Widen to 23 Instrument Categories

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1
The Department of Consumer Affairs reported 51 recognised Government Approved Test Centres, with a fresh round of applications under process in consultation with State Legal Metrology Departments.
2
Following amendment of the Legal Metrology (Government Approved Test Centre) Rules, 2013, the verification scope now covers 23 categories of weighing and measuring instruments.
3
Several states have notified their own GATC Rules in alignment with the amended central framework.

●Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs) are technically competent institutions recognised to verify and re-verify specified weights and measures, supplementing State Legal Metrology Departments
●51 GATCs stand recognised, with a fresh round of applications under process by the Department of Consumer Affairs
●After the Legal Metrology (Government Approved Test Centre) Rules, 2013 were amended, GATC scope covers 23 categories of instruments
●Those categories include water, gas and energy meters, breath analysers, vehicle speedometers, weighing instruments and fuel dispensers for petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG, LNG and hydrogen
●Eligible applicants: industries, laboratories, engineering colleges, polytechnics, ITIs and testing facilities, screened on documentation, infrastructure, qualified personnel and a site inspection
●Several states have notified their own GATC Rules in line with the amended central framework
●Parent law: the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, in force from 1 April 2011, which replaced the Standards of Weights and Measures Acts of 1976 and 1985
●India has been an OIML certificate-issuing authority since September 2023 — the 13th country to gain that status

Exam Relevance

upsc

GS Paper 2 > Governance > Statutory Regulation and Consumer Protection

Expected Questions

★Which Act governs weights and measures in India, and which earlier laws did it replace?

Key Terms

Legal metrology

The regulation of units, methods and instruments of measurement used in trade, to ensure fairness in commercial transactions.

OIML

The International Organization of Legal Metrology, whose certificates India has been authorised to issue since September 2023 as the 13th such country.

priority_highMust Remember

•Legal Metrology Act, 2009 came into force on 1 April 2011, replacing the Standards of Weights and Measures Acts of 1976 and 1985
•51 GATCs recognised; verification scope widened to 23 categories of instruments after amendment of the GATC Rules, 2013
•India became an OIML certificate-issuing authority in September 2023, the 13th country to do so

tips_and_updatesExam Tips

•The examinable core here is the parent law, not the centre count — remember that the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 is administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs and enforced largely by State Legal Metrology Departments.

Question 1 of 2Score: 0/0

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