New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS): The government on Thursday informed that more than 40 crore gold jewellery items have been hallmarked to date -- over 4 lakh gold items being hallmarked per day.

In the fourth phase, kicked off by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) from November 5, hallmarking centres have been set up at 18 additional districts under mandatory hallmarking.

Following the implementation of the fourth stage, the total number of districts covered under mandatory hallmarking now stands at 361, according to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Since the launch of mandatory hallmarking, the number of registered jewellers has increased from 34,647 to 1,94,039 - a notable increase of more than five times. Similarly, the number of assaying and hallmarking centres (AHCs) has grown from 945 to 1,622, informed the ministry.

The hallmarking is done with a unique HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification), ensuring greater trust and transparency for the consumers in the market.

The BIS earlier implemented the first phase of mandatory hallmarking which was launched on June 23, 2021. The phase covered 256 districts whereas the second phase commenced from April 4, 2022, where 32 districts were further added. This was followed by the third phase which was implemented from September 6, 2023 and covered 55 newly added districts.

"It is a notable achievement that the proactive measure by the government of India has triggered over 4 lakh gold items being hallmarked with a unique HUID number per day," said the ministry.

The official mobile application of BIS has the provision for common consumers to verify the authenticity of hallmarked gold jewellery items bearing a HUID number. If a consumer has the HUID of a gold article, he/she can access all kinds of information on the app, such as the jeweller's registration number, AHC details, including the AHC recognition number and address, article type (such as rings, necklaces, coins, etc), date of hallmarking when the jewellery was tested and marked and purity of the metal (gold, silver, etc.)

The BIS Care App enables consumers to file complaints about product quality, misuse of BIS quality marks, and deceptive advertisements, according to the ministry.