Ninety-four percent of standardised Indian products have been harmonised with the qualities prescribed by International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), India’s Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Prahlad Joshi, has said.

As silver gains in investment among consumers worldwide, Joshi has asked the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to begin hallmarking of silver goods produced in India.

Gold, for which there is a huge consumer appetite socially and culturally in India is already being hallmarked by the BIS. “Over 442 million items of gold, jewellery and artefacts produced or value added in India have so far been hallmarked since the process began,” Joshi said.

Standardisation will ensure that buyers abroad and the local people get to purchase safe, reliable and high-quality products, the Minister said. “India’s progress will be decided by its standards that are not only globally recognised but are also locally impactful.”

In the last 10 years, the number of Indian products requiring compulsory BIS certification has risen seven-fold and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has issued nearly eight times more Quality Control Orders (QCOs) than a decade earlier. – editor@nrifocus.com