The Government of India proposes to make amendments to the Bureau of Indian Standards Act (BIS Act, 1986) with regard to hallmarking of precious metals and jewellery, including gold, but will not immediately move towards making the scheme mandatory, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said at a meeting in Delhi with BIS officials and other stakeholders.

A decision about making hallmarking mandatory will only be taken after a detailed assessment of consumer needs by the Ministry, he added.

The BIS is being repositioned as the National Standards Body of India and the amendments are part of this process. The number of products being covered for mandatory standards is also being increased from 102 to 2,300, but there may be no immediate changes in standards and procedures for the jewellery industry.

To stregthen the government’s thrust and ensure that ‘Make In India’ develops as a global brand, all standards followed across industries should be good enough to be accepted globally, the minister said.  Explaining the thinking behind the proposed changes, he said, “There are three things – standards on which there should be no compromise, procedures which should be simplified and consumers should find it easy to understand.”

The proposed amendments will be brought before the Cabinet soon and then be presented in Parliament.