Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

Why in news?

Shri Sanjay Garg, IAS assumes the charge of Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

• BIS – It is the National Standard Body of India, responsible for developing standards and a conformity assessment scheme for goods and services.
• Statutory organization – Established under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.
• Under the – Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• Headquarters – New Delhi & 5 Regional Offices – Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Delhi.
• Objectives –
  • Harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods.
  • To provide thrust to standardization and quality control for growth and development of industry on one hand and to meet the needs of consumers on the other.

Key functions of BIS

• Standardization – Develops and publishes Indian Standards for various products and services.
• Product Certification – Through a third-party organization or certification body assesses and verifies that a product meets specific standards, specifications, or regulatory requirements.
• Conformity Assessment – Implements certification schemes and runs conformity assessment laboratories to ensure products meet quality standards.
• Hallmarking – Oversees the hallmarking of precious metals to guarantee their quality.
• Consumer Empowerment – Works to protect consumers by ensuring the availability of safe, reliable, and quality goods.
• International Representation – Represents India in international organizations like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
• Capacity Building – Conducts programs on quality assurance and standardization.
• Other initiatives –
  • National Institute of Training for Standardization (NITS) – A training institute of BIS which is set up in 1995, at Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
  • Laboratories – BIS has a chain of 8 laboratories which support the activities of product certification.

BIS celebrates the World Standards Day on 14^th October.

References

1. PIB | Shri Sanjay Garg, IAS appointed as Director General of BIS
2.  Department of Consumer Affairs | Bureau of Indian Standards