Reforms by boiler division for Ease of Doing Business

By OEM Update Editorial January 9, 2020 4:25 pm IST

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has now permitted self-certification and third-party inspection and certification of boilers with State Governments to ensure safety of boilers and improve Ease of Doing Business (EoDB). This will benefit a broad spectrum of industries both in the large- and small-scale sector like power plants, chemical plants, refineries, paper plants, steel mills, sugar mills, and other process industries.

Rules and regulations are already in place for third-party inspection. This has resulted in a simplified and more accessible, user-friendly framework for the administration of the Boilers Act and has also protected manufacturers’/users’ interests without sacrificing the safety of boilers.

DPIIT has also taken a number of measures to simplify the procedure of inspection of boilers like 11 third-party inspecting authorities have been recognised by the Central Boilers Board (CBB) to work in the country employing competent persons to carry out inspection of boilers and boiler components during manufacture and use, in addition to Chief Inspector/Director of Boilers. Independent Competent Persons have also been authorised to work in individual capacity under section-8 of the Boilers Act, for in-service inspection of boilers.

Simplified registration of boilers, including facility for online registration and prescribed time limits for all approvals/clearances under the Boilers Act/IBR, has also been implemented.

Self-certification of boilers has been implemented in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Goa, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.

National and Regional Level Boiler Workshops are continuously being conducted by DPIIT through the National Productivity Council (NPC) to apprise the owners of boilers and of the steps that may be taken to optimise the efficiency of boilers and popularise the measures for energy conservation.

In the current year, nine workshops have been organised and another four workshops will be organised in future. A 5^th examination was conducted through NPC in December 2018 for recognition of Competent Persons (CPs) for undertaking inspection of boilers. Passing certificates were issued to 61 candidates. So far, 172 CPs have qualified for Inspection and Certification of Boilers, on the basis of the 5^th examination. A 6^th examination is proposed to be conducted in February.