BIS to scales up silver testing as buyers shift from gold

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is preparing to scale up testing of silver jewellery as demand shifts from gold amid a spike in prices, a senior BIS official said, adding that referral and assay laboratories for silver will expand nationally within two years.

Silver hallmarking has been voluntary since 2005, and from September 2025 onwards, hallmarked silver articles carry a Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number, enabling buyers to verify purity.

“Last year, we introduced HUID for silver jewellery as well, and demand is increasing. We have taken stock of the requirements and are ready to take up silver jewellery testing in a big way in our laboratories,” BIS Deputy Director General (Laboratories) Nishat S Haque said.

“We will be able to handle the requirement within our own labs for roughly the next two years. Within that period, we will be expanding referral and assay laboratories across the country,” she said.

The number of silver jewellery articles hallmarked rose to 5.9 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year from 3.2 million in 2024-25, according to official data. There are currently around 230 Assaying and Hallmarking Centres recognised by BIS for testing silver jewellery.