The expansion of the hallmarking initiative was officially announced by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) through the "Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery and Gold Artefacts (Third Amendment) Order, 2023." This latest phase builds upon the foundation laid in the previous two phases, further solidifying the Government's commitment to safeguarding consumers against counterfeit gold products.

Under this latest phase, a hallmarking centre has been established in each of the newly included 55 districts. This addition brings the total number of districts covered by the mandatory hallmarking to an impressive 343. The comprehensive list of these newly added districts can be found on the BIS website (www.bis.gov.in) within the hallmarking section.

The announcement of the third phase comes on the heels of the government's initial efforts to implement mandatory hallmarking. The first phase, introduced on 23 June, 2021, brought mandatory hallmarking to 256 districts across the nation. Subsequently, the second phase, rolled out on 4 April, 2022, extended the hallmarking system to an additional 32 districts. During these phases, more than 4 lakh gold articles have been hallmarked daily, ensuring their authenticity and quality through the unique Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) system.

Since the inception of mandatory hallmarking, the initiative has witnessed remarkable growth. The number of registered jewellers has skyrocketed from 34,647 to 1,81,590. Simultaneously, the number of Assaying and Hallmarking Centres (AHCs) has surged from 945 to 1,471.

Remarkably, over 26 crore articles of gold jewellery have been hallmarked with HUID, instilling confidence in consumers about the products they purchase.

To empower consumers in verifying the authenticity and purity of hallmarked gold jewellery, the BIS has developed the 'BIS Care' app, allowing users to verify HUID numbers associated with their purchased items. The widespread adoption of the 'BIS Care' app is evident in the numbers, with downloads surging from 2.3 lakhs in 2021-22 to a staggering 12.4 lakhs in the current fiscal year. Furthermore, the 'verify HUID' feature within the app has received more than 1 crore hits over the past two years.