Lok Sabha Question No. 1770 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-13
Subject: Mandatory Hallmarking
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Tapir Gao

1770.   SHRI TAPIR GAO:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) the status of the mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artifacts which has been implemented in each State and district since its launch in 2020;
- (b) whether any steps have been taken to educate consumers about this initiative, if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether there  are  any  plans  to  extend  mandatory  hallmarking  to  other  precious  metals  or  types  of jewellery, if so, the details of the said plan?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h ( श्री अश्विनी कु मार चौबे )

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) : The  BIS  Act,  2016  has  enabling  provisions  for  making  hallmarking  of  precious  metal  articles mandatory  by  Central  Government.  The  mandatory  hallmarking  was  implemented  w.e.f  23  June  2021  by issuing a Quality Control Order.
- i) First phase of the mandatory hallmarking was implemented w.e.f 23 June 2021 in 256 districts for 14, 18 and 22 karats of gold jewellery/artefacts.
- ii) Second phase of mandatory hallmarking was implemented w.e.f 01 June 2022 in 288 (additional 32 districts) districts for 14, 18, 20, 22, 23 and 24 karats of gold jewellery/artefacts.
- iii) Third phase of mandatory hallmarking was implemented w.e.f 06 September 2023 in 343 (additional 55 districts) districts for 14, 18, 20, 22, 23 and 24 karats of gold jewellery/artefacts. (A list of 343 districts is given at Annexure )

## Government of India

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1770 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2023

## MANDATORY HALLMARKING

(b)  : Yes Sir, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is working relentlessly towards generating awareness among the Consumers and other stakeholders about the benefit of hallmarking scheme. It is the endeavour of BIS to interact with all of its stakeholders through extensive outreach programmes.

-  BIS utilizes a wide variety of channels available to reach out to consumers and consumer groups in both rural  as  well  as  urban  areas.  BIS  has  been  engaging  with  stakeholders  by  carrying  out  Awareness Programmes throughout the country through its network of 5 regional offices and 38 branch offices spread evenly across all the states of the country.
-  Each branch office has been actively involved in carrying out such programmes for Consumers, Jewellers, Artisans, Hallmarking Centres in the areas under their jurisdiction. These programmes focus on informing consumer  about  BIS  hallmarking  scheme,  advantages  of  buying  hallmarked  jewellers,  Benefits  of Standardization, promotion of BIS Standard Mark, and educating them on the misuse of BIS Standard mark & Complaint Redressal System for products with BIS Standard Mark.
-  The following publicity/outreach initiatives have been undertaken by BIS for awareness about buying only hallmarked jewellery:
-  A 30 days pan India campaign through AIR was executed on air on 29 FM Stations, 42 Vividh Bharati National stations and Mann ki Baat in which Hallmarking HUID was also highlighted. Campaign was run for two years i.e. 2021-2022 and 2022- 2023.
-  Hallmarking HUID promotion through BIS Care App print ad. (2020-2021) 206847/2023/HMD 687
-  BIS Talks on Hallmarking (June 2021) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWFj4qQq4Jw
-  Print ad on hallmarking to make consumers aware about how they can check the purity of gold. (2021 -2022)
-  IRCTC website was utilized for promoting BIS Care App and its features (including Verify HUID Code). (2022 -2023)
-  Hallmarking Publicity Campaign through "DD Conclave" was executed. The telecast of this conclave was on DD News daily from 6pm to 8pm from 03.06.2022 to 11.06.2022.
-  Hallmarking publicity campaign was executed through Cycle Stand Outdoor Display media, located in front of BIS Main Building at ITO, New Delhi, for a duration of 1 month.
-  Along with the Headquarter, the publicity activities are being executed through Regional and Branch offices to ensure reaching each and every corner of the country. In RO/BOs, Publicity on Hallmarking -HUID has been undertaken.
-  A Hallmarking Print Advertisement on the eve of Akshay Tritiya was released on 3 May 2022.
-  A print campaign on second phase of mandatory hallmarking scheme on 14 May 2022 and 27 May 2022.
-  Hoardings in Post Offices & LED displays inside Post Offices in Rural Areas
-  Hoardings in select Bus Terminus
-  Metro Train Inside Branding
-  LED Screens in Cinema Malls
-  Select Metro Train Stations
-  Display Screens at Railway Stations.
-  Standards Clubs in Educational institutions, Door - to -Door Campaigns etc.,
-  Additionally, Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) has developed AVs on Hallmarking (2023 2024) which were further publicised through BIS Social Media handles -https://youtu.be/ihUwdIzAHpo - https://youtu.be/YzQHf7\_Y044
-  Hallmarking HUID is also regularly publicized through static/Gif/Reel Posts through BIS social media platforms.

Consumer and Jeweller Awareness Programme carried out in the last three years and current year is as under:

| Year               |   Consumer Awareness Programmes |   Jeweller Awareness Programmes |
|--------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 2020-21            |                             213 |                              74 |
| 2021-22            |                             821 |                             717 |
| 2022-23            |                             454 |                             293 |
| 2023-24(till date) |                             243 |                             159 |

- (c)   :   There is no plan in the Government at present to extend mandatory hallmarking to other precious metals or types of jewellery.

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## ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.1770  FOR  13.12.2023  BY  SHRI  TAPIR  GAO  REGARDING  MANDATORY HALLMARKING.

List  of  343  districts  covered  under  the  mandatory  hallmarking  Vide  Hallmarking  of  Gold Jewellery and Gold Artefacts (Third Amendment) Order, 2023, dated,  6th September, 2023.

| S. No   | State/Union Territory   | District                        |
|---------|-------------------------|---------------------------------|
| (1)     | (2)                     | (3)                             |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh          | 1. Anantapur                    |
|         |                         | 2. Annamayya                    |
|         |                         | 3. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema |
|         |                         | 4. East Godavari                |
|         |                         | 5. Eluru                        |
|         |                         | 6. Guntur                       |
|         |                         | 7. Kadapa                       |
|         |                         | 8. Krishna                      |
|         |                         | 9. Kurnool                      |
|         |                         | 10. N.T.R                       |
|         |                         | 11. Nandyal                     |
|         |                         | 12. Nellore                     |
|         |                         | 13. Prakasham                   |
|         |                         | 14. Srikakulam                  |
|         |                         | 15. Visakhapatnam               |
|         |                         | 16. Vizianagaram                |
|         |                         | 17. West Godavari               |
| 2       | Assam                   | 1. Barpeta                      |
|         |                         | 2. Bongaigaon                   |
|         |                         | 3. Cachar                       |
|         |                         | 4. Jorhat                       |
|         |                         | 5. Kamrup Metro Nagaon          |
|         |                         | 6.                              |
|         |                         | 7. Tinsukia                     |
|         |                         | 8. Siva Sagar                   |
| 3       | Bihar                   | 1. Begusarai                    |
|         |                         | 2. Bhagalpur                    |
|         |                         | 3. Bhojpur                      |
|         |                         | 4. Buxar                        |
|         |                         | 5. Darbhanga                    |
|         |                         | 6. East Champaran               |
|         |                         | 7. Gaya                         |
|         |                         | 8. Khagaria                     |
|         |                         | 9. Kishanganj                   |
|         |                         | 10. Madhubani                   |
|         |                         | 11. Munger                      |
|         |                         | 12. Muzaffarpur                 |
|         |                         | 13. Nalanda                     |
|         |                         | 14. Nawada                      |
|         |                         | 15. Patna                       |
|         |                         | 16. Rohtas                      |
|         |                         | 17. Samastipur                  |
|         |                         | 18. Saran                       |
|         |                         | 19. Sitamarhi                   |
|         |                         | 20. Saharsa                     |
|         |                         | 21. Siwan                       |
|         |                         | 22. Madhepura                   |
| 4       | Chandigarh              | 23. Purnea 1. Chandigarh        |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh            | 1. Bilaspur                     |
|         |                         | 2. Durg                         |
|         |                         | 3. Raipur                       |
|         |                         | 4. Rajnandagaon                 |

| 6   | Delhi            | 1. Central Delhi                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|-----|------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 9   | Haryana          | 15. Morbi 16. Navsari 17. Patan 18. Porbandar 19. Rajkot 20. Sabarkantha 21. Surat 22. Surendranagar 23. Tapi 24. Vadodara 25. Valsad 1. Ambala 2. Bhiwani 3. Charkhi Dadri 4. Faridabad 5. Fatehabad 6. Gurugram                                                                                                                         |
| 8   | Gujarat          | 1. Ahmedabad 2. Amreli 3. Anand 4. Banaskantha 5. Bharuch 6. Bhavnagar 7. Botad 8. Devbhoomi Dwarka 9. Gir Somnath 10. Jamnagar 11. Junagadh 12. Kheda 13. Kutch 14. Mehsana 7. Hissar 8. Jind 9. Kaithal 10. Karnal 11. Kurukshetra 12. Mahendragarh 13. Palwal 14. Rewari 15. Rohtak 16. Sirsa 17. Sonipat 18. Yamuna Nagar 1. Hamirpur |
| 10  | Himachal Pradesh | 2. Kangra 3. Mandi                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| 11  | Jammu &Kashmir   | 1. Jammu                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| 12  | Jharkhand        | 2. Kathua 3. Samba 4. Srinagar                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|     |                  | 5. Udhampur 1. Bokaro 2. Dhanbad 3. East Singhbhum 4. Garhwa                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|     | Karnataka        | 5. Ranchi 6. Deoghar                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| 13  |                  | 1. Bagalkot 2. Belagavi                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |

|    |                | 4. Dakshina kannada                        |
|----|----------------|--------------------------------------------|
|    |                | 5. Davanagere                              |
|    |                | 6. Dharwad                                 |
|    |                | 7. Gadag                                   |
|    |                | 8. Gulbarga                                |
|    |                | 9. Hassan                                  |
|    |                | 10. Kolar                                  |
|    |                | 11. Mandya                                 |
|    |                | 12. Mysore                                 |
|    |                | 13. Raichur                                |
|    |                | 14. Shimoga                                |
|    |                | 15. Tumkur                                 |
|    |                | 16. Uduppi                                 |
|    |                | 17. Uttara kannada 18. Vijaypura (Bijapur) |
|    |                | 19. Chikkamagaluru                         |
|    |                | 20. Bellary                                |
| 14 | Kerala         | 1. Alappuzha                               |
|    |                | 2. Ernakulam                               |
|    |                | 3. Kannur                                  |
|    |                | 4. Kasaragod                               |
|    |                | 5. Kollam                                  |
|    |                | 6. Kottayam                                |
|    |                | 7. Kozhikode                               |
|    |                | 8. Malappuram                              |
|    |                | 9. Palakkad                                |
|    |                | 10. Pathanamthitta                         |
|    |                | Thiruvananthapuram                         |
|    |                | 11. 12. Thrissur                           |
| 15 | Madhya Pradesh | 13. Wayanad 1. Balaghat                    |
|    |                | 2. Bhopal                                  |
|    |                | 3. Chhatarpur                              |
|    |                | 4. Chhindwara                              |
|    |                | 5. Dewas                                   |
|    |                | 6. Gwalior                                 |
|    |                | 7. Indore                                  |
|    |                | 8. Jabalpur                                |
|    |                | 9. Katni                                   |
|    |                | 10. Morena                                 |
|    |                | 11. Ratlam                                 |
|    |                | 12. Rewa                                   |
|    |                | 13. Satna                                  |
|    |                | 14. Ujjain                                 |
| 16 | Maharashtra    | 1. Ahmednagar                              |
|    |                | 2. Akola                                   |
|    |                | 3. Amravati                                |
|    |                | 4. Aurangabad                              |
|    |                | 5. Chandrapur                              |
|    |                | 6. Dhule 7.                                |
|    |                | Jalgaon 8. Jalna                           |
|    |                | 9. Kolhapur                                |
|    |                | 10. Latur                                  |
|    |                | 11. Mumbai city 12. Mumbai suburban        |
|    |                | 13. Nagpur                                 |
|    |                | 14. Nanded                                 |
|    |                | 15. Nandurbar                              |
|    |                | 16. Nashik                                 |
|    |                | 17. Palghar                                |
|    |                | 18. Parbhani                               |
|    |                | 19. Pune                                   |
|    |                | 20. Raigad                                 |
|    |                | 21. Ratnagiri                              |
|    |                | 22. Sangli                                 |
|    |                | 23. Satara                                 |
|    |                | 24. Sindhudurg                             |
|    |                | 25. Solapur 26. Thane                      |

| 17   | Odisha     |
|------|------------|
| 20   | Rajasthan  |
|      | Tamil Nadu |
| 21   |            |

|    |             | 20. Theni 21. Thoothukudi 22. Tiruchirappalli 23. Tirunelveli 24. Tirupathur 25. Tirupur 26. Tiruvannamalai   |
|----|-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 22 | Telangana   | 28. Vellore 29. Viluppuram 1. Hyderabad 2. Khammam 3. Mancherial                                              |
| 23 | Tripura     | 12. Mahabubnagar 1. North Tripura 2. West Tripura                                                             |
| 25 | Uttarakhand | 31. Basti 1. Dehradun 2. Haridwar                                                                             |

| 11. Malda 12. Murshidabad 13. Nadia 14. North 24 Parganas 15. Paschim Bardhaman 16. Paschim Medinipur 17. Purba Bardhaman 18. Purba Medinipur 19. Purulia 20. South 24 Parganas 21. Uttar Dinajpur   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

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