New Delhi, Jan 11: Towards self-reliance, the Union Government is set to invest ₹3,000 crore to build a world-class ecosystem for testing power equipment within India.
The investment, expected to be a key feature of the Union Budget 2026, focuses on three core areas: upgrading the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), building a massive inverter testing facility in Nagpur, and developing technology for 1,200 kV transmission systems. This shift is designed to prevent the current practice of shipping critical hardware to international labs for safety and reliability checks.
According to official sources, “The plan is mainly meant to set up a new high capacity inverter testing lab” while ensuring that “critical power equipment” no longer needs to be sent to the Netherlands for verification.
As India integrates more renewable energy into its national grid, the Nagpur facility will provide the controlled environment needed to verify performance against international standards. Furthermore, as the country prepares to scale its transmission lines from 800 kV to 1,200 kV, the new domestic testing capacities will ensure these ultra-high voltage systems are field-ready without relying on foreign intervention.
