BIS launches Silver Refinery Scheme to hallmark silver bullion and coins
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on 14 October 2026 launched the Silver Refinery Scheme, under which it will license silver refineries and mints to hallmark bullion and coins. Amendment No. 1 to IS 2112:2025 has added three purity grades, 999.9, 999.5 and 999.0 parts per thousand, to the standard. The scheme is modelled on the Gold Refinery Scheme.
Syllabus: GS3 · Indian Economy & Growth; Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS2 · Statutory & Regulatory Bodies
Why this matters for UPSC
GS3 economy and GS2 statutory bodies: Prelims can ask what BIS is and under which Act, who runs hallmarking and how fineness is stated; Mains, about standards and consumer protection.
Why it matters
A family buying a silver coin for a festival, or a small investor buying a silver bar, usually cannot test its purity and must trust the seller. Under the scheme, a bar or coin carrying the BIS mark comes from a refinery or mint that BIS has inspected, and its serial number lets a buyer or regulator trace the batch to its maker. A refiner who wants to sell with the mark must keep testing equipment and records that pass BIS's checks. Over time, a common national mark can make silver easier to trade, lend against and price honestly across States. The larger issue is consumer protection in a market where adulteration is hard to detect without a laboratory.
Prelims pointers
- Bureau of Indian Standards: India's National Standard Body under the BIS Act, 2016; it succeeded the Indian Standards Institution, set up on 6 January 1947.
- Hallmarking: the RBI Standing Committee on Gold and Precious Metals named BIS the sole hallmarking agency in 2000; silver hallmarking began in 2005.
- IS 1417: the Indian Standard for gold; refineries licensed under it mark gold bars of 995 and 999 fineness.
- BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018: three chapters, covering registration of jewellers, recognition of Assaying and Hallmarking Centres, and licences for refineries and mints.
- HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification): a six-digit alphanumeric number on each hallmarked gold jewellery item since 1 July 2021, verifiable on the BIS Care app.
- Rule 49, BIS Rules, 2018: a buyer of a hallmarked article short of purity gets twice the value of the shortfall plus testing charges.
- Refinery or mint licence: its laboratory must hold accreditation from NABL or the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to hallmarking in India, consider the following statements:
1. The Bureau of Indian Standards was chosen as the sole hallmarking agency on the recommendation of a committee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
2. The hallmarking of silver articles was launched in India later than the hallmarking of gold.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer
Answer: (b) 2 only
Answer: (b) 2 only. An RBI committee, not a SEBI one, chose BIS; silver hallmarking came in 2005, after gold in 2000.
Statement 1: incorrect. The Reserve Bank of India's Standing Committee on Gold and Precious Metals identified BIS in 2000 as the sole hallmarking agency.
Statement 2: correct. BIS began hallmarking gold after being chosen in 2000; the scheme for silver articles was launched later, in 2005.
Eliminate: Statement 1 credits SEBI, but the committee was the RBI's Standing Committee on Gold and Precious Metals. Out: (a), (c).
Eliminate: Statement 2 is correct, as silver hallmarking (2005) followed gold (2000). Out: (d).
Trap: Swapped attribution. A real recommendation is pinned on the wrong regulator; SEBI sounds right because bullion is traded on exchanges, but it was the RBI's committee.
Remember: Hallmarking: BIS sole agency since 2000 on the RBI committee's advice; gold first, silver from 2005.
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