The Indian Society of Lighting Engineers (ISLE) has played a landmark role in India's lighting standardisation journey through its collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on the National Lighting Code (NLC) — a document that serves as a national knowledge resource for lighting professionals, industry, and institutions.
National Lighting Code — A Knowledge House
The revised NLC is conceived as a Knowledge House built on trust, honesty, and transparency — combining guidelines and handbooks that progress from safety and good practice to better and best practice. It integrates skill development, standards, future R&D, informed citizenship, and public education to deliver social, commercial, and engineering value.
Milestones of the NLC Project (Rev. 2019–2020)
ISLE's contribution spanned from convenor to project leader until completion. A small R&D project was approved — for the first time in BIS history — with ISLE as project leader. The edited R&D draft was submitted to BIS on 20 July 2020 for publication.
- 10 April 2019 — R&D proposal submitted by ISLE as Project Leader
- 15 April 2019 — Extraordinary meeting organised by BIS ETD; proposal passed by ETD Sectional Technical Committee
- 16 May 2019 — Final approval from ETD Council Chairperson
- 22 July 2019 — Approval letter received after completing formalities
- 20 July 2020 — Final complete one-document edited R&D draft submitted to BIS for publication
9 New Application Areas & 5 New Design Areas
The revision significantly expanded the scope of the National Lighting Code to address emerging technologies and sectors:
New application areas include automotive lighting, LED signage, hazard lighting, UVGI/UV applications, tunnel lighting, aviation obstruction lighting, solar lighting, high-mast lighting, and horticulture lighting.
New design areas cover residential, landscape, places of worship, shop & retail, and art & museum lighting.
ISLE Value Addition in NLC Revision
Compared with NLC 2010, the revised document represents a major expansion in scope, participation, and depth:
| Topics | NLC 2010 | NLC Rev. |
|---|---|---|
| Subject Matter — parts / sections | 33 | 50 |
| Main Contributors | 15 | 5 |
| Panel / R&D | Panel-10 (ISLE Chairperson of ET 24) | R&D — ISLE (Project Leader) |
| Industry | 2 | 22 |
| Organisation / Institute | 1 | 10 |
| Expert Practitioner / Consultant | — | 16 |
| Architecture | — | 10 |
| Government Official | 1 | 5 |
| Workshop | N.K* | 8 |
| Meeting | N.K* | 25+ (more to continue) |
| Pages | 327 | 1000+ |
ISLE's work with BIS on the National Lighting Code reflects the Society's commitment to standardisation, national contribution, and advancing lighting science for the benefit of industry, institutions, and the public across India.