Rapid Fire
BIS Foundation Day 2026
- 08 Jan 2026
- 3 min read
Recently, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) celebrated its 79th Foundation Day on 6th January 2026.
- About: BIS is India’s National Standards Body under the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, responsible for ensuring product safety, reliability and global competitiveness.
- It was initially set up as the Indian Standards Institution (ISI) that came into being on 6th January 1947.
- Legal Foundation: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 2016, provides statutory backing for standardisation, certification and hallmarking.
- Vision: To transform “Made in India” into “Trusted by India and Trusted by the World” through a digitally enabled and globally harmonised quality ecosystem.
- Reforms: It provides Annual Minimum Marking Fee concessions (80%–Micro, 50%–Small, 20%–Medium), relaxes in-house laboratory requirements for large industries.
- The Silver HUID Hallmarking Scheme strengthens consumer protection and transparency making HUID-based marking mandatory while silver hallmarking remains voluntary.
- Key Initiatives:
- BIS Standardisation Portal: End-to-end digital platform integrating standards formulation, review and expert collaboration.
- SHINE Scheme (Standards Help Inform & Nurture Empowered Women): Women-centric quality awareness and empowerment initiative through SHGs and NGOs.
- BIS–SAKSHAM (Scheme for Acknowledging Knowledge, Skills and High-impact Merit): Annual excellence recognition framework.
- Standards National Action Plan (SNAP) 2022–27: A national roadmap that steers standardisation for emerging technologies, sustainability and climate action, positioning standards as enablers of India’s economic growth and quality culture.
- Achievements: 94% of Indian standards have been harmonised with the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards.
| Read more: Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016 |
