BIS

Today's opinions examine India's skilling and employment mismatch, BIS certification reform, outcome-linked training, Colgate's D2C experiment and a new history of the East India Company.

The fact that the BIS statute is mandated by different ministries and that the process can take up to six months adds to investment complexities

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the government is working on a framework to exempt high-tech sector companies, including from Japan, from mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for equipment and components needed to set up manufacturing facilities in India. Goyal said he had taken note of concerns raised by Japanese companies over BIS certification requirements and that the government had already instructed the BIS and the Commerce and Industry Ministry to work on a framework to address the issue. The minister was addressing representatives of Japanese firms from semiconductors and AI sectors here. He said the framework could provide exemptions at the company, industry, product or project level, depending on the requirements. The objective is to ensure timely availability of equipment, goods and services for high-tech companies setting up manufacturing operations in India and support the government's 'Make in India' initiative, Goyal ..

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is preparing to scale up testing of silver jewellery as demand shifts from gold amid a spike in prices, a senior BIS official said, adding that referral and assay laboratories for silver will expand nationally within two years. Silver hallmarking has been voluntary since 2005, and from September 2025 onwards, hallmarked silver articles carry a Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number, enabling buyers to verify purity. "Last year, we introduced HUID for silver jewellery as well, and demand is increasing. We have taken stock of the requirements and are ready to take up silver jewellery testing in a big way in our laboratories," BIS Deputy Director General (Laboratories) Nishat S Haque told PTI. "We will be able to handle the requirement within our own labs for roughly the next two years. Within that period, we will be expanding referral and assay laboratories across the country," she said. The number of silver jewellery articles hallmarked ros

India ranks seventh by aggregate AI-firm valuation, but has negligible value in AI models and only a thin presence in computing infrastructure, according to the BIS study

Bank for International Settlements said rising public debt, financial vulnerabilities and uncertainties surrounding the AI boom are increasing risks to the global economy, despite resilient growth

The government has provided one more year till July 31, 2027 to micro and small enterprises from non-leather footwear sector to comply with the mandatory quality control order. The move would give smaller footwear manufacturers more time to obtain BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification. It has also allowed footwear manufacturers to import up to 4,500 pairs annually for research, design development, testing, and other non-commercial purposes without meeting QCO (quality control order) requirements. However, these imported footwear have to be marked as "NOT FOR SALE" and have to be disposed of as scrap. Amending the footwear made from all rubber and all polymeric material and its components (Quality Control) order, 2024, the Department For Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) order said in a provision, "for figures, letters and word '31st July, 2026', the figures, letters and word '31st July, 2027' shall be substituted". Commenting on the order, think tank GTRI s

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published a new voluntary management framework for community seed banks, aimed at protecting traditional crop varieties as climate change threatens the country's agricultural heritage. The standard, IS 20201:2026, lays out requirements covering the full lifecycle of seed bank operations 'from collection and viability testing to storage, documentation and regeneration practices' and is available free of charge on the BIS portal. The consumer affairs ministry said native seed varieties, many of which carry traits such as drought tolerance, disease resistance, and high nutritional value, represent a critical strategic resource for an agrarian economy grappling with erratic rainfall and rising temperatures. "By offering a standardised operating protocol for decentralised, community-led seed banks, IS 20201:2026 aims to promote conservation of these indigenous varieties," the ministry said in a statement. The certifiable standard was developed under

The move comes amid sustained pressure on the rupee and persistent foreign portfolio outflows, with the exemption set to apply to income earned on or after April 1, 2026

BIS has issued standards for E22-E30 fuel blends as India prepares the technical framework for higher ethanol use in petrol-powered vehicles

A panel has proposed prepaid smart PNG metering nationwide and suggested PLI support for manufacturers to boost adoption, improve billing efficiency and strengthen CGD finances

The government has extended the timeline for the rollout of mandatory quality control norms for aluminium cans used in the food processing and beverages industry, providing relief to alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage makers, from cola makers to beer brewers. The move is hailed by the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage makers, who have stated that the extension order will help to bridge the gap between demand and supply before the arrival of the peak summer season. The Cookware, Utensils and Cans for Foods and Beverages (Quality Control) Order, 2026, will be implemented for large arms from October 2026, for small units from January next year, and for micro enterprises from April 2027. As per the order, these goods will have to conform to the respective Indian standards and shall bear the Standard Mark under a licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). It was issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on January 15. DPIIT is an arm of th

Economic Secretary Anuradha Thakur urges the Indian financial sector to embrace disintermediation but ensure credit reaches MSMEs for equitable, sustained 8% GDP growth

The directive, which came into effect on November 12, aims to improve raw material availability for downstream industries

The NSL operates with a capacity of 3 million tonne per annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant located at Nagarnar in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh

A 2016 amendment to the BIS Act broadened the government's authority to mandate compliance with compulsory standards

The steel ministry said these exemptions are an ongoing process, and more licences may be exempted as requests are received

Customers can absorb price hikes, he added

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has found 91 per cent of the 17,860 samples of toys compliant with the quality control order since its implementation in January 2021, reflecting availability of quality products in the domestic market. The bureau has undertaken extensive enforcement activities following the implementation of the Toy (Quality Control) Order in January 2021, said Anil Kapri, Director and Head (Western Regional Lab), BIS, Mumbai. "To keep a check on the quality of certified toys available in the market, BIS is consistently increasing the number of samples drawn for testing. The data since 2021 reflects an upward trend in surveillance activity," said a senior official at Department of Consumer Affairs in the central government. "Moreover, it is evident that an increasingly higher proportion of these samples are found to be in compliance with Indian Standards, indicating a positive shift in the overall quality of toys available in the market," the official added. As

Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Wednesday asked MSMEs to comply with voluntary as well as mandatory quality standards while manufacturing products and urged them to be more proactive in sharing problems and seeking solutions. Addressing a conference here, she noted that India is poised to become the third largest economy in the world, and the MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) will have a major role to play in achieving this. The secretary said MSMEs need to be more proactive in sharing their problems and asked the industry to demand new standards as well as participate in formulation of these quality norms. She highlighted that the government in the past few years have taken various steps to ensure that people get quality products. Recently, Rs 78 crore has been approved to strengthen existing testing labs and set up new ones. "Ultimately, any nation which grows has to ensure credibility of its goods and services. There cannot be any abstinence, or there cannot