The National Building Code of India (NBC) is a comprehensive set of standardized guidelines, not a legislative act, developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). It functions as a model code providing a national instrument for regulating building construction activities across the country. The NBC was first published in 1970 at the instance of the Planning Commission to address issues like unsafe structures and a lack of uniformity in building regulations. The most recent comprehensive revision was the National Building Code of India 2016 (SP 7: 2016).
The mechanism of the NBC involves detailed provisions across its 13 Parts and 33 chapters, covering structural design, fire safety, sanitation, energy efficiency, and accessibility for persons with disabilities. While the NBC itself is recommendatory, its provisions become mandatory when adopted or modified by state governments and local authorities into their local building bylaws, recognizing that construction is a state subject.
In a significant recent change, the Government of India replaced the NBC with the National Building Construction Standards (NBCS), following directives from the Deregulation Cell under the Cabinet Secretariat. This transition was partly because the term "Code" led to its voluntary provisions being interpreted as legally binding. The new NBCS is positioned as advisory guidelines, notably changing the language for fire and life safety provisions from "shall" (mandatory) to "should" (recommendatory). Additionally, the applicability threshold for fire and life safety in residential buildings was raised from above 15 metres in the NBC to above 24 metres in the NBCS.