Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
Have you looked at the certification marks on the different items and products and wondered what they are? The Government issues these to protect the interests of all the residents of the nation. To provide quality goods to consumers, the government has set up standards for almost all products sold in the market.
The certification of goods protects the environment, reduces health hazards to consumers, promotes trade, etc. This article will discuss the 7 famous certification marks issued for different products in India.
The government of India has created some quality marks for various products for almost every product to protect the economic interests of all citizens.
What is a certification mark?
Certification marks on a commercial product are usually a mark of validity or assurance that the manufacturer has tested the product and has ensured that it meets the given quality standard.
It also helps to specify the location of the origin, materials of construction, mode of production, characteristics of the good, etc.
Some of these marks are mandatory, while some are advisory.
A certification mark certifies the nature or origin of the goods or the services to which it has been applied. So basically, there are 7 famous certification marks produced by India.
Who sets these marks?
A special body called the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which comes under the aegis of the International Organisation for Standardisation(ISO standards), governs all the industrial standardization and the industrial product certifications in India. It is thus a national standards organization of India.
Here is a list of famous certification marks
1. ISI Mark
This mark is the most recognized mark for the standard industrial products in India.
The mark certifies that the product conforms to the Standards laid by the BIS, mentioned as IS: xxx on top of the product.
However, it is mandatory for several products sold in India, especially electronic goods.
But in cases of other manufactured products, it is voluntary. It has been effective since 1955.
2. AGMARK
This mark is issued by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection of the Government of India and applies to agricultural products.
The AGMARK is legally enforced in India by the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act of 1937 (and amended in 1986).
The Agmark certification is employed through fully state-owned AGMARK laboratories, which act as testing and certifying centers.
In addition to the Central AGMARK Laboratory (CAL) in Nagpur, there are Regional AGMARK Laboratories (RALs) in 11 nodal cities (Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Kochi, Guntur, Amritsar, Jaipur, Rajkot, Bhopal).
Each of the regional laboratories is equipped with and specializes in testing products of regional significance. Hence the product range that could be tested varies across the centers.
3. The FPO
The FPO mark is mandatory for all processed fruit products sold in India, such as packaged fruit beverages, fruit jams, crushes and squashes, pickles, dehydrated fruit products, and fruit extracts, following the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
The FPO mark guarantees that the product was manufactured in a hygienic ‘food-safe’ environment, thus ensuring that the product is fit for consumption.
With India being the second biggest market for gold and its jewelry, the gold the consumers buy must have a verified mark on them.
The BIS hallmark is a hallmarking system for the sale of precious metals like gold and silver jewelry in India which certifies the purity of the metal.
It verifies that the jewelry conforms to the Bureau of Indian Standards standards.
4. The Non-Polluting Vehicle Mark
The Non-Polluting Vehicle mark is a mandatory certification mark required on all new motor vehicles sold in India.
The mark certifies that the motor vehicle conforms to the relevant version of the Bharat Stage emission standards.
But then, the validity of this mark is only valid for six months, and after that, a new check is needed.
5. Indian Organic certification
India Organic is a certification mark for organically farmed food products manufactured in India.
The certification mark certifies that an organic food product conforms to the National Standards for Organic Products established in 2000.
Those standards ensure that the product or the raw materials used were grown through organic farming, without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or induced hormones.
The certification is issued by testing centers accredited by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the National Program for Organic Production of the Government of India.
These are some examples of certifications in India.
Conclusion:
This article gave brief information on some famous certification marks to protect consumer rights. The government of India has issued quality marks for various products for the benefit of residents. These standards are AGMARK for agricultural products, ISI mark for electrical products, BIS mark for gold ornaments, and “FPO” for all processed fruit products. Certification Marks are a subset of Trademarks and are essential for the consumer to help them identify the commodity that they are purchasing to ensure that the manufacturers maintain a certain level of standard. An application for a certification mark can be filed as a single or a multi-class application in the prescribed form with the Indian Trade Marks Registry.
