Tuesday, 31st May 2005 (4355 views)

A campaign to raise awareness about gold hallmarking has been launched in India.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is behind the campaign, intended to inform both manufacturers of gold jewellery and consumers about the hallmarking standard.

The deputy director general of the BIS, S.M. Bhatia, told the New India Press that hallmarking was vital, both for manufacturers and consumers.

"Hallmarking… helps in developing export competitiveness of gold jewellery industry and provides an opportunity for exporters to improve the trade," Mr Bhatia said.

The BIS is providing financial backing to revive hallmarking centres in 602 districts in the country, and consumers who find that hallmarked gold they have bought is lacking in quality can lodge an official complaint.

"Awareness should be created among the traders and consumers, as the scheme serves both," P. Sengupta, director and head of the BIS, stated.

Mr Sengupta revealed that a survey conducted by BIS found that 80 per cent of the gold being sold in Indian cities did not live up to its hallmarked quality.

 

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