BIS standard deadline on steel utensils extended till November

Government has extended the deadline till November for the steel industry to comply with three new mandatory standards prescribed for making kitchen utensils as well as engineering applications like plates.

Two standards for manufacturing stainless steel utensils and one for engineering application like plates and pellets were notified on June 10 this year by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The industry was given three months deadline till September 9 to comply with.

"These are mandatory standards and the industry wanted more time to comply with. Therefore, we have extended the deadline till November," standards making apex body BIS Deputy Director General A K Sharma told PTI.

The chemical composition should be according to the BIS standard specification to ensure that the utensils do not get rusted and crack on edges, he said.

These standards will apply to the steel which is imported as well as those manufactured locally, he said.

Sharma further said that even small utensil makers will be able to easily comply with these standards. They have to ensure they buy a sheet of steel which has the chemical composition as prescribed by the BIS.

There are many standards set for steel products, but 30 have been made compulsory to protect the interests of the consumers.

BIS, which functions under the aegis of Consumer Affairs Ministry, has so far set more than 19,000 standards for various products and services. As many as 800 standards were made in last two years itself. It is now working on unifying standards in the Saarc region.