The Bureau of Indian Standards, a statutory body, works under the administrative control of the:

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national standards body of India, works under the Department of Consumer Affairs of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Origin of BIS:

• BIS replaced the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), which was set up in 1947.
• The BIS was set up as a statutory body under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act.
• A new Bureau of Indian Standards Act was passed later, which strengthened its powers.

Headquarters:

The headquarters of BIS is in New Delhi.

Functions of BIS:

• Formulating Indian Standards for products and processes.
• Certifying products through the ISI mark.
• Hallmarking of gold and silver jewellery to certify their purity.
• Running laboratories to test products.
• Representing India in international standards bodies, such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

Compulsory certification:

• For certain products related to health, safety and the environment, such as cement, electrical appliances, LPG cylinders and packaged drinking water, BIS certification is mandatory.
• Hallmarking of gold jewellery was made mandatory in many districts from 2021.

Consumer protection:

• BIS helps protect consumers from substandard and unsafe products.
• It works together with consumer protection laws and authorities.

Other quality marks in India:

• AGMARK for agricultural products, under the Ministry of Agriculture.
• FPO mark for processed fruit products, now under food safety law.
• BEE star labels for energy efficiency.
• Eco Mark for environment-friendly products.

World Standards Day:

World Standards Day is observed on 14 October every year.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Ministry of Commerce and Industry deals with trade and industrial policy.
• ✗The Ministry of Science and Technology deals with research.
• ✗The Ministry of MSME deals with small enterprises.