World Standards Day Celebrated in India as Restrictions throw the Spanner
in the Works
Ø Union Cabinet Minister Pralhad Joshi Highlights Role of Standards in India’s Clean
Energy Transition
Ø MoS B. L. Verma and Smt. Nimuben J Bambhaniya Address BIS World Standards Day Event in
Delhi
Ø BIS Launches Silver Refinery Scheme and
Roadmap for Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Manufacturing
Ø New Indian Standards Released for the
Emerging Technology, Clean Energy, Traditional Medicine & Healthcare
·
The Bureau
of Indian Standards (BIS) celebrated World Standards Day 2026 in New Delhi, focusing
on quality infrastructure, clean energy, consumer safety and sustainable industrial
development.
·
Union Minister
Pralhad Joshi highlighted the role of Indian Standards
in supporting India’s clean energy transition and the vision of Viksit Bharat.
·
BIS launched
the Silver Refinery Scheme, introducing certification and hallmarking for silver
bullion and coins of purity grades 999.9, 999.5 and 999.0, ensuring authenticity,
purity assurance and traceability.
·
The BIS
Digital Standard Reader was launched to provide interactive digital standards, searchable
technical content, cross-references and translation into Indian languages.
·
Seven new
Indian Standards were introduced covering electric vehicle charging cables, pedal-assisted
bicycles, wearable service robots, paediatric Panchakarma equipment, therapeutic
footwear, flexible plywood and PVC-coated fibreglass insect screens.
·
BIS released
national roadmaps for sustainable agriculture and sustainable manufacturing, covering
climate resilience, resource efficiency, low-carbon technologies, circular economy
practices and sustainable supply chains.
·
Six academic
institutions, including IIT Ropar, IIT Dharwad and NIT Manipur, joined the BIS standardisation
framework, taking its network to 98 partner institutions.
·
BIS also
recognised 16 technical committees for their contributions to standards development
and released a laboratory safety handbook and educational comic books on toys and
hallmarking.
·
The initiatives
aim to strengthen product quality, consumer protection, technological innovation,
sustainable manufacturing and India’s alignment with international standards.
[ABS News Service/15.10.2026]
In a major push toward strengthening national
quality infrastructure and accelerating India’s clean energy transition, Bureau
of Indian Standards unveiled BIS Silver Refinery Scheme, New Indian Standards on
emerging technologies & clean energy mobility and a standardization roadmap
for sustainable agriculture and manufacturing on the occasion of World Standards
Day 2026 at the national event hosted in New Delhi.
Delivering the presidential address to
standardization professionals, academicians, industry representatives and senior
officials; Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for Consumer
Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and New & Renewable Energy, and Education;
emphasized India’s commitment to quality: “Under the vision of PM Narendra Modi
ji, our journey towards Viksit Bharat is driven by a single mantra: Quality, Quality,
and only Quality.” Speaking on this year’s theme, ‘Shared Vision for a Better
World: SDG 7 (Clean & Affordable Energy)’, Mr. Joshi highlighted the role
of Indian Standards developed by BIS in shaping India’s energy transformation.
Congratulating BIS on its ongoing efforts
to expand the quality ecosystem in the country, B. L. Verma, Minister of State for
Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Social Justice & Empowerment,
underscored the fundamental impact of standards in improving quality of life of
every citizen. Smt. Nimuben
Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, Minister of State for Consumer
Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, emphasized the consumer-centric aspect
of standardization. She underscored the need to expand standard development into
newer domains, ensuring a balanced ecosystem that simultaneously drives industrial
growth and protects consumer welfare.
Commending the landmark achievements of
BIS in the recent years, Smt. Nidhi Khare, IAS, Secretary, Department of Consumer
Affairs, underscored the pivotal role of standardization in establishing uniformity,
consistency, and process institutionalization across public procurement and regulation.
She stressed that effective consumer protection must be preventive driven by robust
testing, digital enforcement, and conformity assessments.
Welcoming the delegates, Director General
of BIS, Sanjay Garg, said, "Standards are vital enablers of innovation, technology
development, and industrial strength." He announced that BIS is among the world's
first national standardization bodies to make standards’ development and its access
completely digital for all stakeholders. He also highlighted major reforms at BIS
supporting Ease of Doing Business.
Launch of BIS Silver Refinery Scheme
The BIS certification scheme for silver
refineries and mints, extends structured purity assurance and hallmarking to silver
bullion and coins across India and establishes a national framework for silver purity
modelled after the existing Gold Refinery Scheme.
Following the gazette notification of
Amendment No. 1 to Indian Standard IS 2112:2025 (Silver and Silver Alloys, Jewellery/Artefacts
— Fineness and Marking), fine silver bullion and coins of three purity grades: 999.9,
999.5, and 999.0 parts per thousand (ppt), have been included in scope of the standard,
with provision for hallmarking by BIS licensed refineries and mints.
Under the scheme, BIS will grant license
to qualified silver refineries and mints after assessing their technical competence,
refining processes, and testing infrastructure. Licensed facilities will be authorized
to apply the official BIS hallmark to silver bullion and coins conforming to the
prescribed requirements.
For assured authenticity and traceability
across the precious metals supply chain, hallmarked silver bullion and coins will
bear a standardized BIS mark comprising of the BIS Standard Mark accompanied by
the word SILVER, purity grade (999.9, 999.5, or 999.0), the manufacturer’s identification
mark and a unique serial number for batch traceability.
The standard prescribes rigorous sampling
and testing protocols for refineries and mints to determine the silver content in
bullion and coins. These include advance analytical methods such as Gravimetric
testing (IS 2113), ICP-OES difference method (IS 16900 / ISO 15096) and Spark-OES
difference methods (IS 19563 / ISO 18214).
Launch of BIS Digital Standard Reader
– BIS Digital Standard
Reader is a web-based platform that converts XML-formatted Indian Standards into
interactive SMART standards. Designed to enhance accessibility, the tool enables
users to search technical content, navigate hyperlinked cross-references, access
an in-built dictionary, and translate text into Indian languages. Accessible across
mobile devices, tablets, and desktops, the platform also features an analytics dashboard
to track usage trends and establishes an AI-ready repository for future digital
services. This will make Indian Standards much user friendly and easy for adaption.
Release of New Indian Standards - On this occasion BIS announced the rollout
of 7 new Indian Standards across diverse sectors, including textiles, clean mobility,
therapeutic healthcare, robotics, and building materials.
Emerging Technologies & Clean Energy
Mobility -
1. Cables for Electric Vehicle Charging Systems
(IS 19967:2026): Defines construction, insulation, thermal management, and testing protocols
for flexible charging cables (up to 1,100 V AC / 1,500 V DC) operating under demanding
outdoor conditions across AC Modes 1–3 and DC Mode 4 systems
2. Pedal Assisted Bicycles / EPACs (IS 19891:2026): Provides standards for design, electrical
circuit safety, short-circuit/overheat protection, and anti-tampering rules for
Electrically Power Assisted Cycles with continuous rated power up to 0.25 kW and
speed cut-off at 25 km/h
3. Wearable Service Robots – Lower Limb (IS 17192 Part-6:2026):
Adopts international testing criteria (identical to ISO FDIS 18646-6:2025) using
anthropomorphic test dummies to evaluate the motion, stability, and performance
of lower-limb assistive and rehabilitation robotics.
Healthcare–
1. Paediatric Panchakarma Droni (IS 19960:2026): assuring safety, structural stability,
non-toxic coatings, and oil-resistance specifications for Paediatric Panchakarma
treatment tables (Droni) for Infant (birth to 2 years)
and Child (2 to 10 years)
2. Therapeutic Footwear Specification (IS
19956:2026): Assuring clinical and
mechanical safety criteria for footwear designed for diabetic and neuropathic patients.
It covers pressure relief, internal depth, rocker geometry, moisture management,
and antifungal properties to mitigate foot ulceration risks.
Industrial Materials & Building Products
1. Flexible Plywood Specification (IS 19952:2026): Provides standard classifications, glue
bond strength grades (moisture-resistant, BWR, and BWP), and formaldehyde emission
limits for curved wood-based panels used in interior design and architecture
2. PVC Coated Fibreglass Insect Screen (IS
19825:2026): Outlines requirements
for mesh strength, UV degradation resistance, flame propagation resistance, and
structural durability for fibreglass insect screening utilized in residential and
commercial spaces.
Release of National Roadmaps for Standardization
in the field of Sustainable Agriculture & Manufacturing
On this occasion, a strategic roadmap
developed by Environment and Ecology Division Council of BIS to establish Indian
Standards for the sustainable agricultural sector was released. The document addresses
challenges including climate change, resource depletion, land degradation, post-harvest
losses, and inefficient nutrient use. It spans 15 categories, covering soil management,
water use, agricultural inputs, emerging technologies, climate services, and socio-economic
support. Aligned with the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), the roadmap
outlines standard formulation across three timelines: short-term (1 year), mid-term
(2–3 years), and long-term (4–5 years).
In another roadmap released today, for
Sustainable Manufacturing, low-carbon technologies, resource efficiency, circular
economy practices, sustainable product design, digitalisation, sustainability reporting
and supply-chain management have been identified as key areas for standardisation.
Award of Best Technical Committees for
Development of Standards
On the Occasion of World Standards Day,
BIS presents the Best Technical Committee Award to recognise the outstanding contributions,
technical expertise, and collaborative efforts of experts in advancing the development
of Indian Standards in the respective sectors. This year 16 distinguished technical
committees have been conferred with this prestigious award.
Addition of 6 New Academic Institutions
into Standardization Framework -
In the presence of Union Minister of State
B L Verma and Smt Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, BIS onboarded IIT Ropar, NIT Manipur,
NIT Meghalaya, Assam Textiles Institute, and IIT Dharwad, and RGIPT (Rajiv Gandhi
Institute of Petroleum Technology) as MoU partner institution with an objective
to integrate Indian standards into academic curricula and transform students into
standards-ready professionals. As on date BIS has 98 number of MoU partner institutions
working for integration of standards in academic curricula, collaborative R&D
projects for standardization as well as offering internship in BIS and industry
exposure to the students.
Handbook on Good Practices for Safety
in the Laboratory
BIS has published a comprehensive booklet,
‘Good Practices for Safety in Laboratory,’ drawing on key standards (including
IS 4209, IS 4906, and IS 9457). The reference handbook covers hazard identification,
protective equipment, contamination control, and safe waste disposal for chemical,
radiochemical, and microbiological facilities.
Release of Educational Comic books –
On this occasion, two new comic books
on Indian Standards for Toys and Hallmarking were released by BIS to foster awareness
among children about the importance of standards, quality and consumer protection
from an early age. With the addition of these titles, BIS has expanded its collection
to 13 comic books, strengthening its efforts to promote consumer awareness through
print and digital platforms.
On the occasion of World Standards Day
2026, global standardization bodies ISO, IEC and ITU jointly released a video message
sharing how shared standards build system-trust, accelerate innovation, and support
sustainable trade. As India’s national standardization body, BIS participates in
over 600 technical committees across ISO and IEC to align international standard
development with India’s strategic interests.
Source: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)