The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Dehradun Branch Office, is actively working to promote standards and regulatory compliance in 13 districts of Uttarakhand, 5 districts of Uttar Pradesh, and 1 district of Himachal Pradesh, with the aim of strengthening consumer safety and quality assurance. Continuing this initiative and keeping sustainable development in mind, the BIS Dehradun Branch Office is sensitizing and raising awareness about standards among all stakeholders in the state. In this process, they are being made aware of how standards can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how high-quality products and services can ensure long-term benefits for our society and environment. In keeping with this year’s World Standards Day theme, SDG 17, the BIS Dehradun Branch has decided to organize Standards Festivals in four key locations in the state – Paonta Sahib, Haridwar, Muzaffarnagar, and Rudrapur. The primary objective of these events is to spread the message about the importance of standards and how proper compliance can contribute to a safe and sustainable planet for future generations. These festivals will conclude in Dehradun on October 14th, World Standards Day. The BIS Dehradun Branch Office is continuously making significant contributions to empowering industries and establishing a culture of quality in the manufacturing sector. In this regard, the state’s manufacturing units are being provided with timely technical guidance regarding the Omnibus Technical Regulations for Machinery Safety (Integrated Safety Manual), which will be implemented next year, so that they can be prepared to adopt global safety standards. BIS is committed to ensuring consumers receive certified and safe products that are worth the price they pay. To this end, the Government of India has so far notified over 700 products under the mandatory ISI mark, including footwear, electrical products, cement, and rebar. In this regard, the Hallmarking Unique Identification (HUID)-based hallmarking system for silver jewelry and articles has been implemented on a voluntary basis from September 1, 2025, in accordance with the newly published standard IS 2112:2025. This revised standard defines seven purity grades (including two new grades: 958 and 999). Consumers can now instantly verify the purity, sale date, jeweler registration details, and testing center information of any hallmarked silver jewelry through the BIS Care App. Similarly, BIS is successfully implementing the Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS) notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which covers major products such as mobile phones, smartwatches, LED lights, power banks, and adapters. BIS urges consumers to ensure the CRS mark is present when purchasing electronic products, especially during festivals like Diwali. To make consumer protection accessible and transparent, the BIS Care App has been developed as an integrated digital platform where the authenticity of ISI, HUID, and CRS marks can be verified in a matter of seconds, and complaints can be lodged immediately if any irregularities are detected. This app is proving equally useful for citizens, traders, and government departments. Not limiting standardization to consumers alone, the BIS Dehradun branch office has organized capacity-building and sensitization programs for officials from the Health, Women and Child Development, Labor, Agriculture, and Horticulture departments. Five sessions have been held so far for newly recruited state personnel at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Nainital, providing detailed lectures on the role of BIS and consumer rights
