CERTIFICATION MARKS IN INDIA

Certification marks on a commercial product are usually called as a mark of validity or an assurance of the fact that the manufacturer has tested the product and it 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.

A special body which is called as Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which comes under the aegis of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO standards), govern all the industrial standardization and the industrial product certifications in India.
It is thus a national standards organization of India.

ISI Mark is a certification mark used for industrial products in India.
This mark assures that the product conforms to Indian Standards and is issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
This mark is both mandatory and voluntary.
Mandatory ISI certification products consist of electrical appliances, medical equipment, steel products, stainless steel, chemicals, fertilizers, cement, LPG cylinder, batteries, and packed drinking water.

The BIS Hallmark is a marking system, set up to certify the purity of gold jewelry and gold.
This mark was introduced for gold in the year 2000 and for silver jewelry in 2005.
It verifies that the jewellery conforms to the standards which are set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
BIS certified gold jewelry comes with a BIS stamp.

AGMARK is a certification mark used for agricultural products in India.
This mark assures that the product conforms to a set of standards approved by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection of the Government of India.
Currently, AGMARK standards cover quality guidelines for various products like essential oils, vegetable oils, pulses, cereals, fruits, vegetable and semi-processed products like Vermicelli.

It is compulsory to have an FPO Mark on all processed fruit products sold in India.
The example of processed fruit products are fruit jams, packaged fruit beverages, crushes, squashes, pickles, dehydrated fruit products, and fruit extracts.
The FPO mark confirms that the product was manufactured in a hygienic ‘food-safe’ environment and is fit for consumption.

The green or brown dot is a common mark, printed on almost all food products.
The brown dot on the packed food item indicates that the food is non-vegetarian.
On the other hand, the green dot indicates that the food in the package is vegetarian. These symbols should be placed at a prominent place on the package.

The India Organic Certification is a label provided to farm products processed in India.
The certification mark guarantees that an organic food product adheres to the National Standards for Organic Products.
The certification is issued by testing centres accredited by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the National Program for Organic Production of the Government of India.
It assures that the product or the raw materials used in the product, were grown through organic farming, without using any chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or induced hormones.

This mark is issued by the BIS to those products which conform to a set of standards aimed at causing the least impact on the ecosystem.

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 fresh check is needed.