NEW THRUST TO GOLD HALLMARKING
Hallmarking of gold
jewellery should remain voluntary for the present, according to
the majority of members of the Committee on Hallmarking of Gold.
The 13 member Committee held its second meeting here yesterday
under the Chairmanship of Shri Navin B. Chawla, Secretary, Department
of Consumer Affairs. The Committee on hallmarking of gold product
was constituted by Shri Sharad Yadav, Minister of Consumer Affairs,
Food and Public Distribution to examine ways and means of securing
interest in the marketing of gold products.
The Committee
was of the view that hallmarking could be made mandatory once
the country is ready with the installation of necessary infrastructure
all over the country which involves import of machinery from abroad
and setting up of assaying centres. The installation cost of one
such assaying centres is estimated at Rs. 50 to 60 lakhs.
Several members
of the Committee suggested setting up of assaying centres at District
level for the benefit of rural consumers as 65% of total gold
consumption in the country is in rural areas. It was also suggested
that the Ministry should explore the possibility of getting the
rate of customs duty reduced for import of equipments for hallmarking
of gold jewellery.
Members of the
Committee were unanimous in the need of creating consumer awareness
about gold hallmarking in rural and urban areas. A multi media
campaign with finances from Government and industry and other
stakeholders was suggested in this regard. Formation of a sub-committee
for creating awareness among masses especially rural consumers
was also recommended by the members of the Committee.
Keeping in view
the consumer interest and market demand, gold jewellery certification
popularly known as hallmarking of gold jewellery was started by
the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the Department of Consumer
Affairs in April 2000 on a voluntary basis. The scheme is aimed
at providing third party insurance to consumers on the purity
of gold or its fineness. This scheme is operated through BIS network
of Regional and Branch offices all over the country. At present,
there are 14 hallmarking centres and over 650 jewellers are brought
under the scheme. The Committee on hallmarking was set up early
this year with 13 members representing Government Departments,
RBI, MMTC, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, World Gold
Council and Consumer Activists with Secretary, Consumer Affairs
as its Chairman.
