In September 2025, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAF&PD) introduced voluntary hallmarking for silver jewellery and articles, enhanced with a digital Hallmarking Unique Identification (HUID) system to ensure purity verification and quality assurance for consumer protection, effective from 1 September 2025.
Exam Hints:
- What? Introduction of Digital Hallmarking System for Silver Jewellery with HUID
- Ministry: MoCAF&PD
- Implementer: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
- Standard: IS 2112:2025 (replaces IS 2112:2014)
- Purity Grades: 800, 835, 925, 958, 970, 990, 999 (958 & 999 newly added)
- Verification Tool: BIS Care Mobile App
- Infrastructure: 230 Assaying and Hallmarking Centres (AHCs) across 87 districts
Background:
Introduction: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced voluntary hallmarking for silver jewellery in October 2005.
Certification: Under this scheme, silver jewellers receive a certificate of registration as per IS 2112, allowing them to manufacture and sell hallmarked silver jewellery.
About HUID-Based Hallmarking for Silver:
Objective: The initiative aims to strengthen consumer rights, ensure transparency, prevent malpractices in the silver jewellery market, and align silver hallmarking norms with gold.
Hallmark Components: It consists of three components,
- BIS Standard Mark with the word ‘SILVER’
- Purity Grade
- HUID Code (6-digit alphanumeric unique identifier)
Purity Grades: The revised IS 2112:2025 standard introduces seven purity grades: 800, 835, 925, 958, 970, 990, 999, replacing the previous system under IS 2112:2014, with 958 and 999 newly added for better alignment with gold hallmarking standards.
Benefits: Consumers can trace silver jewellery, verify article type, purity, hallmarking date, Assaying and Hallmarking Centre (AHC) details, and jeweller registration using the BIS Care mobile application (app), protecting against fraud and adulteration.
Infrastructure and Implementation:
AHCs: 230 BIS-recognized AHCs across 87 districts
Volume: Over 32 lakh silver articles hallmarked in Financial Year 2024–25 (FY25)
Access: BIS Care App enables verification of HUID-coded silver jewellery
Hallmarking in India:
Products Covered: The products covered under hallmarking in India include gold jewellery and artefacts as well as silver jewellery and articles.
Gold Hallmarks : It is a process that requires jewellers to obtain BIS registration to manufacture and sell jewellery, followed by assaying and testing to determine metal purity, and hallmarking with the BIS logo (triangular-shaped stamp mark), purity grade (18K, 22K and 24K), and a unique HUID code (6-digit alphanumeric code).
About Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS):
BIS, the National Standard Body of India under Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAF&PD).
Director General (DG) – Pramod Kumar Tiwari
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
Established– 1986
