Over 40 crore gold jewellery items hallmarked so far, confirms Centre

New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday said that more than 40 crore gold jewellery items have been hallmarked to date -- over 4 lakh gold items being hallmarked per day.

The Bureau of Indian Standards began fourth phase of mandatory hallmarking under the Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery and Gold Artefacts Amendment Order, 2024 from November 5, 2024, Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement. 

During the fourth phase, 18 additional districts where hallmarking centres have been set up under Mandatory Hallmarking. Following the implementation of the fourth stage, the total number of districts covered under Mandatory Hallmarking now stands at 361, the statement said.

BIS launched first phase of mandatory hallmarking on June 23, 2021. This 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 6th September, 2023 and covered 55 newly added districts.

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, said the Ministry.

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

"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.