ARAI eyes business beyond pollution checks

The emission certification laboratory, set up at the Automotive Research Association of India's (ARAI) campus on Monday, will not only test the aspect of mass emission norms but also test many other systems of automobile companies in India as well as abroad.

ARAI's deputy director DJ Kulkarni told Business Standard soon after the inaugural function that the laboratory will offer developmental testing for proposed models of automobiles as well as "carry on production" testing for the existing ones.

"The services of the laboratory will be available not just to Indian car manufacturers but also to the automotive companies the world over," Kulkarni said, adding that countries including Germany and United Kingdom have already shown interest in the services to be offered by the laboratory.

He further added, "Once these countries test our capabilities, the components tested here will not have to be taken to those countries for homologation."

Earlier, the Union minister for heavy industries and Public Enterprises Santosh Mohan Deb, inaugurated the laboratory at a function where the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan was the chief guest. This is the first facility under the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (Natrip).

Kulkarni informed that the laboratory has been set up at an investment of Rs 22 crore, which includes land, buildings and equipment. The laboratory has been set up as part of the Rs 250-crore grant assigned to ARAI under Natrip. Similar laboratories are coming up in Chennai and Gurgaon also.

Under Natrip, ARAI Pune will work as a centre of excellence for engine fatigue and materials, while Chennai will be a centre for electronics and Gurgaon will focus on Noise-Vibration-Harshness(NVH) and crash testing, he added.

Natrip has envisaged six or seven centres including those for homologation, testing and test track. The test track proposed at Indore will be the world's longest. Two more centres are proposed for Rae Bareilly and Silchar respectively.