Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 [Acts for UPSC]

The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 provides for the establishment of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the national standards body of India. This topic is important for the IAS exam under various heads such as polity, governance, economy, etc.

BIS Act, 2016:- Download PDF Here

Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 [BIS Act]

The Act was originally enacted in 1986 and the BIS came into existence in December 1986. A new act (to replace the BIS Act of 1986) was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2015, which was subsequently passed by both houses of the Parliament. The new act came into force in 2017.

Bureau of Indian Standards (hereinafter referred to as ‘BIS’) is a statutory body established under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’). BIS prescribes the standards for covering goods and systems under the standardization regime. Under the Act, BIS has been identified as the ‘National Standards Body of India’ and is regulated under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Government of India

You can read more about BIS in the link.

Features of BIS Act

The Act establishes a Bureau for the purpose of standardization, marking and certification of articles and processes.  

• The Act allows the union government to make it compulsory for certain notified goods, processes, articles, etc. to carry the standard mark in the public interest, safety of the environment, national security or to prevent unfair trade practices.
• The BIS Act also allows many types of simplified conformity assessment schemes and this includes self-declaration of conformity against a standard which will offer simplified options to manufacturers to adhere to the standards and get a certificate of conformity. 
• According to the Act, the central government has the power to appoint any agency or authority (apart from the BIS) to verify the conformity of product & services and issue the conformity certificates.
• Additionally, there is a provision in the Act for the recall or repair for products that bear the Standard Mark but do not conform to the required Indian standard.
• The Act has identified new areas for standardisation. These include:
  • Medical devices
  • Alternate fuels
  • Smart cities
  • E-mobility
  • New and renewable energy
  • Digital technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0, Blockchain, etc.)
• The BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018 makes the hallmarking of precious metals jewellery and artefacts such as gold and silver mandatory.
• The penalty for improper use of the Indian standard mark will be a fine of up to Rs. 5 lakh.  
  • The Act also prescribes penalties for the following points:
    • The improper use of the standard mark by testing and marking centres
    • Manufacturing or selling goods & articles that do not carry a standard mark and have been mandated to do so, etc.