The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is a statutory body and India's National Standards Body, operating under the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. Its origin traces back to the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), which was established as a registered society in January 1947 by the Department of Industries and Supplies to take up the task of formulating National Standards. The ISI mark scheme, which licensed manufacturers to apply the mark to conforming goods, was launched in 1955-56 under the Indian Standards Institution (Certification Marks) Act, 1952.
The BIS superseded the ISI on April 1, 1987, after the Parliament passed the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986, to provide a broader scope and statutory basis for standardization, marking, and quality certification. The current legal framework is the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016, which came into force on October 12, 2017, replacing the 1986 Act. This Act aims for the harmonious development of standardization, conformity assessment, and quality assurance of goods, articles, processes, systems, and services.
The mechanism of BIS involves formulating over 20,000 Indian Standards and operating various certification schemes, including the well-known ISI mark and the Hallmarking of gold and silver jewellery. The BIS Act, 2016, empowers the Central Government to make the use of the Standard Mark mandatory for certain goods or articles in the public interest, for environmental safety, or to prevent unfair trade practices. Key provisions include the power to compel certification for any goods or articles from any scheduled industry and the provision for the recall or repair of products that bear the Standard Mark but do not conform to the required Indian standard.
The BIS connects to international bodies like the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), where it represents India. A recent change occurred with the Bureau of Indian Standards (Conformity Assessment) Amendment Regulations, 2026, which introduced a mandatory annual advance fee payment mechanism for licenses and certificates, and overhauled Scheme-II (Self-Declaration Scheme). The statutory foundation under Sections 12 and 13 of the BIS Act, 2016, which deals with conformity assessment and granting of licenses, remains the same.