Nepal: The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) has been inundated with applications for the Nepal Standards (NS) mark from more than 24 cement producers. The rush was prompted by the bureau's April 2013 deadline for cement plants to obtain NS certification or face closure.

The bureau has recently launched a crackdown against cement companies selling their products without the NS logo or using it illegally. In February 2013 it shut four cement plants including Ambe, Butwal, Reliance and Shree for using the NS logo illegally and producing substandard materials. NBSM director general Ram Adhar Sah said that 26 out of the 28 cement plants producing cement without obtaining the NS logo have applied for it.

According to the Cement Manufacturers' Association of Nepal (CMAN), there are 44 cement factories in Nepal producing around 150 brands. However, the bureau said that only 16 companies had received the NS logo so far, and that the rest had been using it illegally or not at all. Even producers who have acquired the certification have been using the branding illegally across different product lines.

CMAN president Atma Ram Murarka said that the bureau's move followed its request to the government. Though imported cement has secured a larger share of the Nepali market, local cement producers conduct transactions worth US$346m/yr, according to CMAN.