Consumer Awareness and Training Programme

One of the important objectives of NBSM is to make consumer to be conscious on quality and to make them selective with regard to quality in the days to come. This is being done through many different means of publicity. Organization of talk program, training, seminar, workshops, group discussion and notices in newspaper, radio and television, roadside hoarding boards are some of the examples of consumer awareness program being conducted by NBSM.

Consumer Protection

NBSM is to conduct its duties under two different Acts namely, Standard Weights and Measures Act and Quality Certification Mark Act. Both of these acts pertain to consumer protection. The Standard Weights and Measures Act protects Consumer by way of implementing and monitoring standard weighing and measuring system in the industry and trade. The second one imparts satisfaction and then protects consumer from under standard product through Quality Certification Mark (NS).

N.S Quality Award.

Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has been launching NS Quality Award ce 1999 with a view to recognizing those industries, which have excellence performance in quality management activities. The criteria used for the evaluation of industries are based on the principles of ISO quality management system.

According to this programme three among those industries who have been licensed to use NS mark in their products and have shown best performances in last two years are ted. One with the outstanding performance is awarded with "NS Quality Award" and other two are awarded with "Letter of Appreciation". It is being thought that this kind of programme provide incentives to the industries to bring more improvements in the quality of their product.

Laboratory Accreditation

With more and more sectors being conscious about quality, testing facilities of NBSM alone is becoming inadequate. It has indeed become quite necessary to encourage the private sectors to come up in developing and establishing testing laboratories. In order to bring encouragement among competent private sector laboratories and to monitor these laboratories, laboratory accreditation scheme called Nepal Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (NEPLAS) is already in progress. Five laboratories have already been accredited and more laboratories are on line for accreditation. With this programme in hand more and more private laboratories will be in the field for competition and in consequence development of competent and reliable testing shall be available to the consumer.

Eco-Labeling

To comply with international requirements on environmental friendly production NBSM has been launching a project "Environmental Labeling for Export Industries in Nepal" with grant assistance from Government of Finland. NBSM is committed to sustain this programme even after the project period. The objective of the project is to provide help to export industries to acquire license to use internationally recognized Eco-label in their products, to be exported to foreign countries. This label proves that the particular produce is manufactured in a way that the particular produce is manufactured in a way that has been to negative impact in the environment and also, it does not affect the environment of the consumer in general. Three carpet manufacturing establishments and one pashrnina industry has already acquired the license to use OKO- Tex on eco-label of Switzerland. Five more industries are in process to achieve the goal. In addition, NBSM is also planning to establish domestic eco-labeling programme in order to promote importance of such labeling in hotels and other tourism industries.