The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

A buyer walks into a shop to get new tyres. A jeweller shows a gold chain. A student opens a new laptop box. Each one trusts a small mark they barely notice. That mark exists because one body, the Bureau of Indian Standards, decides what “good enough” means in India.

1Why does India need a body that sets standards?

Imagine two tyres that look the same. One is tested for heat and grip. The other is not. You cannot tell by looking. A standard solves this problem.

• A standard is a shared rulebook. It says how a product should be made, tested and labelled.
• BIS is India’s national standards body. It writes these rulebooks and gives its marks to products that pass.
• It works under the Department of Consumer Affairs. That sits in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
• The Minister of Consumer Affairs is its President by virtue of office. The day-to-day head is the Director General.
• Its headquarters is Manak Bhawan in New Delhi. “Manak” means “standard” in Hindi.

2How did BIS begin, and which law runs it today?

Standards work in India began just before Independence. The Indian Standards Institution was set up in January 1947. It was a society, not a law-made body.

• The BIS Act, 1986 turned it into a statutory body. The Bureau came into being on 1 April 1987.
• That law was replaced by the BIS Act, 2016. It was notified in March 2016 and came into force on 12 October 2017.
• The new Act widened the Bureau’s reach. It now covers goods, articles, processes, systems and services.
• BIS is a statutory body. No article of the Constitution creates it.

3What does the ISI mark promise?

Most people know the ISI mark. It has sat on helmets, cement bags and electric switches for decades.

• The ISI mark shows that a product meets the relevant Indian Standard.
• It is issued under BIS’s Scheme-I, the product certification scheme.
• BIS first tests the product. It also audits the factory that makes it.
• For many products the mark is compulsory. The government lists those items in Quality Control Orders. For other products it is voluntary.
• Automotive tyres and tubes are a well-known compulsory case. This fact has been asked in UPSC.

4Why does gold carry a hallmark and a HUID?

Gold is different from a tyre. You cannot see purity with your eyes. A jeweller can sell 18-carat gold as 22-carat, and few buyers would know.

• BIS hallmarking certifies the purity of gold and silver jewellery and artefacts.
• Mandatory gold hallmarking began in phases from June 2021. It covers 14, 18 and 22 carat gold.
• A grade is stamped on the piece, such as 22K916, 18K750 or 14K585. The number shows purity in parts per thousand.
• From 1 April 2023, each piece must carry a HUID. This is a six-character alphanumeric code.
• The HUID links the piece to a record in a BIS database. A buyer can check it before paying.

5What is the Compulsory Registration Scheme for electronics?

The third mark is the quiet one. You find it on the back of a charger or a laptop. It is the Compulsory Registration Scheme, or CRS.

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the CRS order in October 2012. It began to apply in 2013.
• BIS runs the registration. The scheme is called Scheme-II.
• It covers electronics and IT goods, such as phone chargers and LED lamps. The list has grown since the first order.
• A maker tests its product in a recognised lab and registers it with BIS. Only then can it sell the product in India.
• CRS works by registration, not by the ISI mark. That difference is a common exam trap.
• The list keeps growing. In September 2026, MeitY added glass screen protectors, the “screen guard” on your phone, to the order.

6Which mark goes with which product?

The three schemes cover different goods. A product usually falls under only one of them. Use this table to sort them quickly.

7What are the exam traps on BIS?

• Trap 1: hallmarking covers electronics. It does not. Electronics fall under CRS.
• Trap 2: BIS is a constitutional body. It is not. It is statutory.
• Trap 3: AGMARK is a BIS mark. It is not. AGMARK covers farm produce and is issued by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, under the Ministry of Agriculture.
• Trap 4: AGMARK is issued by the FAO. This is wrong. The FAO has no role in it.
• Check the ministry as well. BIS sits under Consumer Affairs, not Commerce and Industry.

8How has BIS been asked in exams?

9What is BIS doing in the news?

• In December 2025, BIS notified IS 19445:2025. It is India’s first standard for bomb disposal systems.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs and a defence lab asked for it. Items such as bomb blankets and bomb baskets are tested against it.
• The standard is voluntary. It gives makers and labs clear test methods.
• The newest case is the screen guard rule. A MeitY notification of 21 September 2026 puts glass screen protectors under the Compulsory Registration Order.
• From 1 April 2027, makers and importers must register them with BIS. Each guard must meet IS 19348:2025.
• That standard sets rules for glass strength, thickness, coatings and anti-shatter layers. It does not check how well a guard fits one phone.
• The aim is to push out cheap, untested imports. Buyers should see better quality, though prices may change during the switch.
• News like this keeps BIS in current-affairs questions. Expect a link between a new standard and BIS’s role.