Date: 14/01/2023

Relevance: GS-2: Government policies and interventions; Transparency and accountability; Statutory, Regulatory & Quasi-Judicial Bodies.

Key Phrases: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), ISI mark, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), Consumer Protection Act, 2019, AGMARK, Hallmarking, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act.

Context:

• Recently, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) revealed that it has seized over 18000 toys being sold without the mandatory ISI mark from major retail stores at malls and airports.

Background:

• According to the BIS statement the toys were seized from various reputed stores and retail chains such as Raj Toy World, Giftz, Madurai, Royal Mart, Kids Zone, Hamleys, WHSmith etc. at malls and airports.
  • Based on complaints from domestic manufacturers raids were conducted across the country and it was found out that toys were being sold without a BIS mark with some illegally imported toys.
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has also issued notices to Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal as it was found that their platforms are being used to sell toys which were found to be in violation of the compulsory BIS standards.

Part of awareness drive

• The BIS said that it was part of awareness among sellers and consumers about mandatory BIS certification for toys.
• It was announced that action against the errant sellers will be taken as per provisions of the BIS Act.
• Since January 2021, it is mandatory for toys to conform to Indian Standards and bear the ISI mark under a license from BIS.

What is a certification mark?

• Certification mark present on a commercial product provides an assurance that the said product is manufactured in accordance with quality, safety and other standards prescribed by the authorities in their jurisdiction and the mark validates that.
• It also helps to specify the location of the origin, materials of construction, mode of production, characteristics of the good etc.
• Some of such marks are mandatory as per laws while some are only advisory.
• A certification mark also certifies the nature or origin of the goods or the services to which it has been applied.
• BIS is the nodal authority in India
  • Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which comes under the aegis of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO standards), governs all the industrial standardization and the industrial product certifications in India.

Important certification marks in India

• ISI mark
  • The ISI (Indian Standard Institution) mark is a standards-compliance mark for industrial products in India since 1950.
  • This mark assures that the product conforms to Indian Standards and is issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
  • This mark is both mandatory and voluntary.
  • Mandatory ISI certification products consist of electrical appliances like switches, electric motors, wiring cables, heaters, kitchen appliances, etc., and other products like Portland cement, LPG valves, LPG cylinders, automotive tyres, etc.
• AGMARK
  • AGMARK (Agriculture Mark) is a certification mark used for agricultural products in India.
  • This mark assures that the product conforms to a set of standards approved by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection of the Government of India.
  • Currently, AGMARK standards cover quality guidelines for more than 220 products like essential oils, vegetable oils, pulses, cereals, fruits, vegetables and semi-processed products like Vermicelli.
• FPO Mark
  • The FPO mark is a certification mark mandatory on all processed fruit products sold in India such as packaged fruit beverages, fruit-jams, pickles, dehydrated fruit products etc.
  • It is mandatory under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.
  • Although the standards have been in force since 1955 by the law of Fruit Products Order, after which the mark is named as FPO but the mark itself got a mandatory status only after the FSSAI Act 2006.
  • The FPO mark confirms that the product was manufactured in a hygienic ‘food-safe’ environment and is fit for consumption.
• Ecomark
  • Ecomark is a certification mark issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards to products conforming to a set of standards aimed at the least impact on the ecosystem.
  • The marking scheme was started in 1991 and mainly works to increase awareness among the consumers towards reducing environmental impact.
• BIS Hallmark
  • The Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) operates a hallmarking scheme in India.
  • According to the BIS, Hallmarking is the “accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of precious metal in precious metal articles.”
  •  Thus, the hallmarking ensures “guarantee of purity or fineness” of precious metal articles.
  • The hallmarking was introduced for gold in the year 2000 and for silver jewelry in 2005.
  • The government of India issued a notification in June 2018 and notified two categories of metals under the purview of hallmarking.
    • Gold jewellery and gold artifacts.
    • Silver jewellery and silver artifacts.
• Green and brown dots for food consumables
  • The brown dot on the packed food item indicates that the food is non-vegetarian.
  • On the other hand, the green dot indicates that the food in the package is vegetarian.
  • These symbols should be placed at a prominent place on the package.

Way Forward

• Ensure compliance through e-commerce companies
  • There is a need to ensure compliance at the e-commerce websites and companies such as Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal.
  • If such entities persist in the sale of toys in violation of compulsory BIS standards necessary action may be initiated against them under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019
• Enhanced customs department vigilance
  • The Customs department should enhance vigilance and set up joint teams to ensure that imported consignments of toys are in compliance with the BIS quality norms.
• Mechanism to ensure verifiable BIS certification
  • The BIS is also working on a mechanism to automatically verify whether a declaration made by a seller on an e-commerce platform regarding their BIS certification is authentic through development of an API.
  • E-commerce platforms have also assured that they will mention in their product description that the product comes under mandatory certification.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. India’s regulatory framework is paralyzed with lax enforcement, elucidate the statement in light of failure of law enforcement in sectors such as Banking, Customs etc. with recent examples. (250 words).