In the year 1863, a very serious boiler explosion occurred in Calcutta which caused the loss of several lives. As a result of this explosion, the necessity of inspection of boilers was widely recognized and a bill was introduced in the Bengal Council to provide for the inspection of steam boilers. In the year 1864, the Bengal Act VI of 1864 was passed which provided for the inspection of steam boilers and prime movers in the town and suburbs of Calcutta.
Central Government appointed a committee called "The Boiler Law Committee" in 1920 to examine and report on the general question of boiler legislation in India.
The Committee recommended that regulations to cover the standard conditions for material, design and construction of boilers should be framed by Government of India and make applicable to all the provinces. The report also pointed out that regulations were entirely of technical nature and there was no reason for which these regulations would be affected by local conditions. The Committee prepared a draft Act on the lines of which, the basic All-India Act was passed in 1923. Indian Boiler act, 1923 provides for the safety of life and property of persons from the danger of explosion of boilers. The Government of India Act, 1935 assigned the subject 'Boilers' to the concurrent field. A Board called the Central Boilers Board was accordingly constituted in the year 1937.
The current version of these regulations is known as the Indian Boiler Regulations, 1950 with amendments up to January, 2016.