The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is preparing to boost silver jewellery testing as buyers shift from gold to silver. Demand is rising after gold prices spiked. BIS plans to expand referral and assay labs across India in the next two years.
Silver hallmarking has been voluntary since 2005. From September 2025, hallmarked silver articles will carry a Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number. This lets consumers confirm purity online or in stores.
In the 2025-26 fiscal year, 5.9 million silver pieces were hallmarked, up from 3.2 million the previous year. Official data shows a clear trend toward silver.
BIS currently recognises about 230 assay and hallmarking centres. The agency already operates ten laboratories nationwide and is adding more to meet the testing load.
Back in 2014, BIS had 147 recognised labs and only 24 government labs. Today it lists 440 recognised labs and 350 empanelled government labs.
The lab network is growing with new facilities for CCTV, power‑transmission line and petrochemical testing. BIS also uses AI, machine learning and robotics to speed up tests and cut errors.
BIS is piloting a pick‑and‑place robotic arm for cement testing this year. Equipment is linked to the Lab Information Management System (LIMS) for automatic data capture and CCTV monitoring.
The agency also enforces a 2016 Indian Standard that requires mobile phones to support texting in English, Hindi and a regional language, plus display all 22 official languages. This helps emergency alerts reach every user.
The Reserve Bank of India asked BIS’s Central Laboratory in Sahibabad to test note‑sorting machines for counterfeit detection. Such tests are done only in government labs.
BIS regularly checks ISI‑marked products like helmets and appliances by sampling from shops and online stores. Licences are granted only if products pass the tests; non‑compliant items can be blocked.
Consumers can file complaints about BIS‑certified products through the BIS Care app. Manufacturers can view lab availability on the LIMS portal and request new labs if needed. BIS urges buyers to choose BIS‑certified items for confidence and safety.