Overview
- BIS announced on Sunday, Aug 9, 2026 that it will scale up testing of silver jewellery after a surge in demand driven by higher gold prices.
- The agency said it can meet silver testing needs in its own laboratories for roughly two years and will expand referral and assay labs nationwide within that period.
- Hallmarked silver items rose to 5.9 million in fiscal 2025–26 from 3.2 million a year earlier, and since September 2025 those items carry a Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number to let buyers verify purity.
- BIS runs all market surveillance testing for hallmarked gold in-house, has grown to 10 BIS labs plus about 440 recognised and 350 empanelled labs, and tested nearly 270,000 product samples in the past year.
- The agency is piloting AI, machine learning, robotics and direct integration of test equipment with its Lab Information Management System, and consumers can file product complaints through the BIS Care app while manufacturers can book labs via the LIMS portal.