Bureau of Indian Standards

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is India's national standards body, which develops standards and operates schemes to assess whether products and services meet specified requirements. Its statutory mandate under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 is the harmonious development of standardisation, conformity assessment and quality assurance of goods, articles, processes, systems and services, together with connected activities.

Statutory and institutional basis

The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 replaced the earlier 1986 legislation and provides the legal framework for BIS's standards and conformity-assessment functions. BIS functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

• Its mandate extends beyond manufactured goods to processes, systems and services.
• Standardisation establishes common requirements, while conformity assessment determines whether those requirements have been met.

Principal functions

BIS translates its statutory mandate into standards, certification and supporting technical services.

• It establishes, publishes, reviews and promotes Indian Standards to provide agreed specifications and requirements.
• It operates conformity-assessment schemes, including product certification, and grants licences or certificates of conformity under the applicable schemes.
• It operates hallmarking schemes for precious-metal articles, providing assurance about their fineness.
• It establishes and maintains laboratories and recognises other laboratories for testing associated with its functions.
• It supports standardisation through research, training and consumer awareness.

Voluntary standards and compulsory compliance

An Indian Standard is not automatically a compulsory legal requirement. Standards and certification are generally voluntary, but the Act enables the Central Government, after consulting BIS, to require conformity for specified goods, articles, processes, systems or services.

• The government can impose mandatory requirements through Quality Control Orders.
• Statutory grounds include public interest, protection of human, animal or plant health, environmental safety, prevention of unfair trade practices and national security.
• BIS administers the relevant certification requirements and monitors compliance by its licensees.

Relevance to environmental quality

BIS standards provide technical benchmarks relevant to public health and environmental quality. For example, IS 10500 specifies requirements for drinking-water quality.

• Such standards support testing and assessment, but a technical benchmark should be distinguished from an enforceable requirement under an applicable law or order.
• BIS's standards and conformity-assessment role complements, rather than replaces, the pollution-control functions of environmental regulators.