Consumer Ministry expands test infrastructure

The center has increased its focus to improve testing facilities nationwide and will also streamline BIS certification fees for micro-scale units. The Bureau of Indian Standards will expand its testing infrastructure to increase the frequency of product testing, market surveillance and laboratory inspections.

Nidhi Khare, additional secretary of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, told media on Friday: “It has been decided to give micro-units across the country an 80 percent concession for BIS certification or minimum labeling fees for all product categories. An additional 10 percent concession will be granted to all units located in the Northeast.”

BIS will enhance market surveillance for products such as pressure cookers, helmets and other consumer products to ensure product safety and bring quality awareness to the country.

“We are looking into improving the testing infrastructure available at the Bureau of Indian Standards and accredited laboratories. The focus will be to increase the testing of samples by 10x,” she added.

As of April 2022, approximately 1,53,634 samples have been received across categories and test reports for 6 lakhs per year have been issued. Of these, 63,565 samples were received by BIS Labs. New facilities have also recently been added to the BIS labs to test ceiling fans, shoes, cement, LPG cylinders and gold, among others.

Currently, about 460 products are subject to mandatory BIS certification through quality control missions, and over 600 are being brought within the scope of mandatory BIS certification, officials said.

Hallmarking of gold jewellery

“From April 1, 2023, only the sale of gold jewelry with HUID will be allowed,” the ministry said in a statement. This means that only gold jewelry hallmarked with the six-digit alphanumeric HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) number will be allowed for sale.