Ministry of Commerce | Stakeholder Consultations held for reforms in administration of Boilers

PIB News Update: A meeting for stakeholder consultation under the chairmanship of Shri Piyush Goyal, Commerce & Industry Minister was held today in Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi.  Leading boiler manufactures, users, Foundries, Forges, Pipes/Tubes makers, Third Party Inspecting Authorities, Central Boiler Board members, State Government’s representatives participated in the meeting.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) in association with State Governments has taken a number of reforms related to manufacture, erection and use of boilers which include:

• Self-certification of Boilers has been implemented in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Goa, Jharkhand,  Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand &  West Bengal.
• Rules and regulations are 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.
• Twelve third party inspecting authorities have been recognized by the 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 authorized to work in individual capacity under section-8 of the Boilers Act, for in-service inspection of boilers.
• Inspection of boilers & boiler components by third party inspecting Authorities and Competent Persons has been implemented in the whole country.
• Simplified registration of boilers including facility for on-line registration is in place.
• Timeline limits have been prescribed for all approvals/clearances under the Boilers Act/IBR.
• Directions have been given to State Governments u/s 31 A of the Boilers Act, 1923 for on-line registration of boilers and it has been implemented in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,  Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra,  Odisha, Punjab,  Jharkhand,  Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand &  West Bengal
• Regulations have been amended to increase time period between inspections, requiring mandatory shutdown of the boilers in power plants and continuous process plants which will result in increase in production from these plants.

The steps taken by DPIIT were appreciated by the Stakeholders. Stakeholders informed that with the above reforms, inspection efficiency has improved resulting in reduction of project execution time.

To carry forward reforms, stakeholders made following suggestions:

1. On-line system for Boiler registration and inspections  should be strengthened by the State Governments
2.   Availability of Boiler Operation Engineers (BOE) should be improved by conducting BOE examination at Central Government level as many State Government are not conducting examination regularly.
3. Disparities among Inspections done by Third Party Inspecting Authorizes/Independent Competent Persons recognized by the Central Boilers Board(CBB) and State Government Boiler Inspectors should be removed.
4. Provision may be made in BOE Rules for on-line intimation by BOEs to State Governments instead of endorsement,  in case of change of their operations from one state to another
5. Provision may be made in Indian Boiler Regulations, 1950(IBR) to recognize well-known boiler manufacturers/ boiler accessories manufacturers.