Certification marks in India
{{Short description|Indian system for product's certification}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
India has a comprehensive system of product certifications governed by laws made by the Parliament of India at various times. These certifications are managed by various agencies, and hold various statuses before the law. Some of these marks are mandatory for such products to be manufactured or to be placed in the Indian market while some of the marks hold only an advisory status. All the industrial standardisation and industrial product certifications are governed by the Bureau of Indian Standards often abbreviated as BIS,{{Cite web|title=About BIS - Bureau of Indian Standards|url=https://www.bis.gov.in/index.php/the-bureau/about-bis/}} the national standards organisation of India, while standards for other areas (like agricultural products) are developed and managed by other governmental agencies.
Certification marks
The state enforced certification marks presently in India are (alphabetical list):
- Agmark: for all agricultural products.{{Cite web |url=http://agmarknet.nic.in/agm_std1.htm |title=Directorate of Marketing and Inspection. 'Promotion of Standardization and Grading of Agricultural and Allied Produce'. |access-date=2012-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111120742/http://agmarknet.nic.in/agm_std1.htm |archive-date=2011-11-11 |url-status=dead }}[http://mofpi.nic.in/ContentPage.aspx?CategoryId=141 Ministry of food processing industries.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426002100/http://mofpi.nic.in/ContentPage.aspx?CategoryId=141 |date=2012-04-26 }}
- BIS hallmark: certifies the purity of gold jewellery.
- Ecomark: an ecolabel for various products issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Voluntary and promotional.
- FPO mark: A mandatory mark for all processed fruit products in India. Certifies that the product was manufactured in a hygienic 'food-safe' environment.
- Geographical Indications marks: defined under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), have been in force since 2003. Examples, include the Darjeeling tea and Basmati mark.[http://apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/about_apeda/bas_ex_dev_found.htm Basmati certification in India. Basmati Export Development Foundation.]
- India Organic certification mark: for organically farmed food products.[http://www.indianspices.com/html/np_organiccert.htm Spices Board of India. 'Organic certification mark'.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802024444/http://www.indianspices.com/html/np_organiccert.htm |date=2012-08-02 }} Certifies that the product conforms to the specifications of National Standards for Organic Products, 2000[http://www.apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/organic/ORGANIC_CONTENTS/English_Organic_Sept05.pdf APEDA. 'National Standards for Organic Products.'] and any eventual amendments. The certification is issued by testing centres accredited by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the National Program for Organic Production of the Government of India.
- ISI mark: for industrial product. Certifies that a product confirms to a set of standards laid by the Bureau of Indian Standards.[http://www.bis.org.in/cert/procert.htm Bureau of Indian Standards. Official web site. 'Product Certification Schemes.']
- Non Polluting Vehicle mark on motor vehicles: certifying conformity to the Bharat Stage emission standards.
- FSSAI: for all food products.
- [https://www.bl-india.com/blogs/isi-bis-certification/bis-certification-for-footwear BIS certification for footwear]: for all footwear products. BIS certification is mandatory for selling footwear in India. It ensures compliance with legal requirements and enables participation in tenders and contracts.
- [https://www.bl-india.com/blogs/isi-bis-certification/bis-certification-for-toys BIS certification for toys]: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has made electric and non-electric toys mandatory to bear the ISI mark. They cannot be manufactured, sold, imported, or distributed in the Indian market without bearing the ISI mark. BIS certification for toys is mandatory for domestic and foreign manufacturers of toys to sell them in the Indian market.
Other marks
labels required by the law in India, but are not exactly certifications marks (alphabetical list).
- Toxicity label is mandatory on the containers of pesticides sold in India. It identifies the level of toxicity of the pesticide in four levels
- Either the Vegetarian mark (green dot symbol) or the Non-vegetarian mark (brown dot symbol) is mandatory for packaged food products to distinguish between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
Non-statutory marks
There are other non-statutory certification marks or schemes in India which are promoted by the Government of India, by policy, or through governmental or semi-governmental agencies. But these certifications bear no legal status in the nation and are purely promotional in nature.
Examples of such certifications are:
- The Silk Mark Certifies that a piece of textile is pure silk. It is managed by the 'Silk Mark Organisation of India'.
- The Ayush Mark or the Ayush Product Certification Scheme for herbal products by the Department of Ayush.[http://indianmedicine.nic.in/index3.asp?sslid=293&subsublinkid=96&lang=1 Department of Ayush. 'AYUSH Mark'.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228211651/http://indianmedicine.nic.in/index3.asp?sslid=293&subsublinkid=96&lang=1 |date=December 28, 2011 }}[http://www.qcin.org/documents/downloadpdf.php?downloaded=Certification_Scheme_AYUSH/introduction.pdf Voluntary Certification Scheme For Ayush Products. Introduction.][http://www.qcin.org/documents/downloadpdf.php?downloaded=Certification_Scheme_AYUSH/Use_of_Mark.pdf Voluntary Certification Scheme For Ayush Products. Use of the Mark.]
- The Darjeeling tea certification mark,[http://teaboard.gov.in/inner1.asp?param_link_id=610 Tea Board. 'Darjeeling Tea'.] a geographical indication mark for tea produced in Darjeeling.