Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology (NBSM) is the National Standards Body of Nepal. It is one of the departments under Government of Nepal, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.
Government's Industrial policy of 1974 recognized that the economic development was possible only through the industrial development in the country. And the industrial development is possible only through the quality production in compliance with required standards. Hence, it was felt that there is an ardent need of an organization that looks after the activities concerning standardization and quality control for qualitative improvement in the industrial production and to enhance productivity. That was how National Standards Body came into existence.
A committee called "Nepal Quality Standardization Committee" under the chairmanship of the vice-chairman of National Planning Commission along with a secretariat to the committee called Nepal Institute of Standards (NIS) Was established in 1976. NIS Went on working to develop national standards and also to formulate concerned acts and rules. Nepal Standards (Certification Mark) Act 2037 and Rules 2040 were promulgated in the following days. Accordingly, in 1981 Nepal Institute of Standards (NIS) Was renamed and restructured into Nepal Bureau of Standards (NBS) as a full-judged department of Ministry of Industry.
Later, in 1986 it was felt that standardization and quality control activity couldn't go along without the help of metrology since the verification of weights and measures is an integral part of standardization and certification activities. Therefore, in 1988 Department of Weights and Measures of Ministry of Finance was merged with Nepal Bureau of Standards and was again restructured into Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) and has been acting as such since then to this date.
Under the "Nepal Standard (Certification Mark) Act 2037", Nepal Council for Standards (NCS) was formed as the governing body for Quality, Standards, Testing and Metrology (QSTM) activities in Nepal. NBSM is to act as the secretariat to this council.