The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has announced several major initiatives on World Standards Day 2026, including a new certification scheme for silver refineries, seven new technical standards across emerging technologies and clean energy, and strategic roadmaps for sustainable practices. These announcements were made at the national celebration of World Standards Day held in New Delhi and were supported by senior government ministers.
Key facts
- BIS launched the Silver Refinery Scheme covering silver bullion and coins at three purity grades: 999.9, 999.5, and 999.0 parts per thousand
- Seven new Indian Standards were released covering electric vehicle charging cables, pedal-assisted bicycles, robotic devices, therapeutic footwear, paediatric treatment equipment, flexible plywood, and insect screening materials
- Two national roadmaps were released for standardization in sustainable agriculture and sustainable manufacturing
- Six new academic institutions were added to the BIS standardization framework through MoU partnerships, bringing the total to 98 partner institutions
- BIS launched a Digital Standard Reader platform to make Indian Standards more accessible through web-based, interactive formats
- Sixteen technical committees received the Best Technical Committee Award for their contributions to standards development
The Silver Refinery Scheme
Following a gazette notification amending Indian Standard IS 2112:2025, BIS has extended its hallmarking framework to the silver sector. Under this new scheme, qualified silver refineries and mints will receive BIS licenses after assessment of their technical capacity, refining processes, and testing capabilities. Licensed facilities will be authorized to apply the official BIS hallmark to silver bullion and coins that meet prescribed purity standards.
Hallmarked silver products will display a standardized BIS mark that includes the word SILVER, the purity grade, the manufacturer’s identification mark, and a unique serial number for batch traceability. The scheme mandates rigorous testing protocols for refineries and mints, including advanced analytical methods such as gravimetric testing, ICP-OES difference method, and Spark-OES difference methods to determine silver content with precision.
New Indian Standards for clean energy and emerging technologies
BIS released standards for electric vehicle charging systems (IS 19967:2026) that define construction, insulation, thermal management, and testing protocols for flexible charging cables rated up to 1,100 volts AC or 1,500 volts DC, supporting AC Modes 1–3 and DC Mode 4 charging systems.
A new standard for electrically power-assisted cycles (IS 19891:2026) sets design and safety requirements for pedal-assisted bicycles with continuous rated power up to 0.25 kilowatt and speed cut-off at 25 km/h, including electrical circuit safety and anti-tampering protections.
For healthcare applications, two new standards were released: one for paediatric Panchakarma treatment tables (IS 19960:2026) ensuring safety and structural stability for infants and children, and another for therapeutic footwear (IS 19956:2026) designed for diabetic and neuropathic patients, covering pressure relief, internal depth, moisture management, and antifungal properties.
Additional standards cover wearable service robots for lower-limb assistance (IS 17192 Part-6:2026), flexible plywood for interior design (IS 19952:2026), and PVC-coated fibreglass insect screening (IS 19825:2026) for residential and commercial buildings.
Roadmaps for sustainable agriculture and manufacturing
BIS released a strategic roadmap for sustainable agriculture developed by its Environment and Ecology Division Council. The document addresses challenges including climate change, resource depletion, land degradation, and post-harvest losses. It spans 15 categories covering soil management, water use, agricultural inputs, emerging technologies, climate services, and socio-economic support, with standard formulation targets across short-term (one year), mid-term (two to three years), and long-term (four to five years) periods.
A parallel roadmap for sustainable manufacturing identifies low-carbon technologies, resource efficiency, circular economy practices, sustainable product design, digitalization, sustainability reporting, and supply-chain management as key areas for standardization.
Digital Standard Reader and academic partnerships
BIS launched a Digital Standard Reader, a web-based platform that converts Indian Standards into interactive formats. The tool allows users to search technical content, navigate cross-references, access built-in dictionaries, and translate text into Indian languages. The platform works across mobile devices, tablets, and desktops and includes an analytics dashboard to track usage trends.
Six new academic institutions—IIT Ropar, NIT Manipur, NIT Meghalaya, Assam Textiles Institute, IIT Dharwad, and the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology—were onboarded as BIS MoU partners. These partnerships aim to integrate Indian standards into academic curricula, develop collaborative research projects for standardization, and provide internships and industry exposure to students. BIS now has 98 partner institutions working on standards integration and student development.
What this means for you
Consumers purchasing silver bullion and coins will have assured authenticity and traceability through standardized BIS hallmarking. Businesses in the electric vehicle, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors will have clearer technical requirements and testing protocols. Academic institutions and students can now access Indian Standards more easily through the Digital Standard Reader platform. Students at partner institutions will be trained in standards development practices, making them better prepared for industry roles focused on quality and compliance.