New Delhi, Aug. 30 -- India recently introduced its first national minimum standards for mortuary and post-mortem infrastructure, finalized by the National Council for Clinical Establishments under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), setting uniform requirements for cold storage, staffing, body identification and autopsy facilities while barring morgues from basements and areas near hospital waste disposal sites.

The standards seek to replace a fragmented system in which mortuary operations have largely been governed by state police manuals and medico-legal codes rather than uniform technical requirements, according to two government officials and the 'Clinical Establishment Act Standards for Mortuary' document reviewed by...