India Govt makes hallmarking of gold compulsory

New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) To protect consumers from unscrupulous jewellers, the Indian government today approved a proposal making hallmarking of gold mandatory. The hallmarking of gold, which is voluntary at present, is a purity certification of the precious metal. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under the country's Ministry of Consumer Affairs, is the administrative authority for hallmarking. The Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, cleared the proposal by approving amendments to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986, that aims to expand the ambit of mandatory hallmarking to include more products, including gold, sources said. The BIS (Amendment) Bill, will empower the government to bring in compulsory certification regime any article and/or process that it considers necessary from the point of view of health, safety, environment and prevention of deceptive practice, they said. At present, about 77 items, including cement, mineral water and milk products, are certified through mandatory hallmarking under the BIS Act for conformity with expected quality levels. The BIS hallmark, a mark of conformity widely accepted by the consumer, bestows the additional confidence to the consumer on the quality of products like gold jewellery. PTI