Bureau of Indian Standards
Encyclopedia
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national Standards Body of India
working under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India
. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 which came into effect on 23 December 1986. The Minister in charge of the Ministry or Department having administrative control of the BIS is ex-officio President (Emaad Amin) of the BIS.
The organization was formerly the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), set up under the Resolution of the then Department of Industries and Supplies No. 1 Std.(4)/45, dated 3 September 1946. The ISI was registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
As a corporate body, it has 25 members drawn from Central or State Governments, industry, scientific and research institutions, and consumer organizations. Its headquarters are in New Delhi, with regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Delhi, and 20 branch offices. It also works as WTO-TBT enquiry point for India.
It represents India in ISO,the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Standards Service Network (WSSN)
their products and services.
BIS has identified 14 sectors which are important to Indian Industry. For formulation of Indian Standard, it has separate Division Council to oversee and supervise the work. The Standards are regularly reviewed and formulated in line with the technological development to maintain harmony with the International Standards.
(National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratiories) accredited. It operates a laboratory recognition scheme also.
The BIS Precious Metals Sectional Committee (MTD 10) has formulated and published the following Indian Standards on Gold and Gold Alloys:
Later, Hallmarking on Silver is also introduced in December, 2005 to protect the consumer's interest.
BIS recognizes and gives financial assistance in setting up of Assaying & Hallmarking Centres (A&HMC)who are desirous of doing so.
The primary activities of NITS are:-
The code was first published in 1970 at the instance of the Planning Commission of India.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
working under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 which came into effect on 23 December 1986. The Minister in charge of the Ministry or Department having administrative control of the BIS is ex-officio President (Emaad Amin) of the BIS.
The organization was formerly the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), set up under the Resolution of the then Department of Industries and Supplies No. 1 Std.(4)/45, dated 3 September 1946. The ISI was registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
As a corporate body, it has 25 members drawn from Central or State Governments, industry, scientific and research institutions, and consumer organizations. Its headquarters are in New Delhi, with regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Delhi, and 20 branch offices. It also works as WTO-TBT enquiry point for India.
Association with International Standards Bodies
BIS is a founder member of International Organisation for Standardization (ISO)It represents India in ISO,the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Standards Service Network (WSSN)
Standard Formulation & Promotion
One of the major functions of the Bureau is the formulation, recognition and promotion of the Indian Standards. As on 31 March 2008, 18446 Standards formulated by BIS, are in force. These cover important segments of economy, which help the industry in upgrading the quality oftheir products and services.
BIS has identified 14 sectors which are important to Indian Industry. For formulation of Indian Standard, it has separate Division Council to oversee and supervise the work. The Standards are regularly reviewed and formulated in line with the technological development to maintain harmony with the International Standards.
Laboratories
To support the activities of product certification, BIS has a chain of 8 laboratories. These laboratories have established testing facilities for products of chemical, food, electrical and mechanical disciplines. Approximately, 25000 samples are being tested in the BIS laboratories every year. In certain cases where it is economically not feasible to develop test facilities in BIS laboratories and also for other reasons like overloading of samples, equipment being out of order, the services of outside approved laboratories are also being availed. Except for the two labs, all the other labs are NABLNational Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories
National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories , is an autonomous body under the aegis of Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and is registered under the Societies Act.- About NABL :...
(National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratiories) accredited. It operates a laboratory recognition scheme also.
Scheme-Foreign Manufacturers
All foreign manufacturers of products who intend to export to India are required to obtain a BIS product certification licence. Towards this, BIS launched its Product Certification Scheme for overseas manufacturers in the year 1999. Under the provisions of this scheme, foreign manufacturers can seek certification from BIS for marking their product(s) with BIS Standard Mark. If or otherwise, the foreign manufacturer has not signed an MoU with BIS, it has to set up a liaison office in India with the permission of Reserve Bank of India. Otherwise, an authorized representative or agent needs to be appointed by the foreign firm.Scheme for Indian Importers
Indian importers who intend to get Certification Mark may apply for the licence in a similar manner to other Indian Importers. However, the assessment visit is paid to the original product manufacturer.Management System Certification
- Quality Management System Certification Scheme IS/ISO 9001
- Environmental Management System Certification Scheme IS/ISO 14001
- Occupational Health and Safety Management System Certification Scheme IS 18001
- Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Scheme IS/ISO 22000
- Service Quality Management System Certification Scheme IS 15700
Hallmarking
It is also one of the voluntary schemes of BIS. Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery started in April 2000 in accordance with BIS Act 1986. It is aimed at protecting the consumer's interest and providing third party assurance to consumers on the purity of gold. The list of hallmarked jewelers with BIS licence and BIS recognised hallmarking centres has been hosted on BIS website.The BIS Precious Metals Sectional Committee (MTD 10) has formulated and published the following Indian Standards on Gold and Gold Alloys:
- IS 1417 - Grades of Gold and Gold Alloys, Jewellery/Artefacts
- IS 1418 - Assaying of Gold in Gold Bullion, Gold alloys and Gold Jewellery/ Artefacts
- IS 2790 - Guidelines for Manufacture of 23,22,21,18,14 and 9 carat Gold Alloys
- IS 3095 - Gold Solders for use in Manufacture of Jewellery
Later, Hallmarking on Silver is also introduced in December, 2005 to protect the consumer's interest.
- IS 2112 - Hallmarking of Silver Jewellery / Artefacts
BIS recognizes and gives financial assistance in setting up of Assaying & Hallmarking Centres (A&HMC)who are desirous of doing so.
National Institute of Training for Standardization (NITS)
It is a training institute of BIS which is set up in 1995. It is functioning from Noida, (Uttar Pradesh), India.The primary activities of NITS are:-
- In-House and Open Training Programme for Industry
- International Training Programme for Developing Countries (commonwealth countries)
- Training Programme to its employees.
Grievance Cell
If any customer reports about the degraded quality of any certified product at Grievance Cell, BIS HQs, BIS gives redressal to the customer.Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award
It was instituted in 1991 to award the pioneers of Industry in quality products & services every year.Small Scale Industry Facilitation Cell
SSI Facilitation Cell became operational since 26 May 1997. The aim of the Cell is to assist the small scale entrepreneurs who are backbone of the Indian industry. It has an incentive scheme to promote such units to get certified with ISI Mark.National Building Code of India, 2005
It is a comprehensive building code for regulating the building construction activities across the country which came with the contribution of around 400 experts.The code was first published in 1970 at the instance of the Planning Commission of India.