The government on Thursday said from November 5, the fourth phase of mandatory hallmarking of gold jewelery and gold artifacts was started, covering an additional 18 districts. Since the launch of mandatory hallmarking on June 23, 2021, over 40 crore gold jewelery items have been hallmarked with a unique ID, ensuring greater trust and transparency for consumers.
This is ensuring greater trust and transparency for the consumers in the market, a statement from the Consumer Affairs Ministry said on Thursday. The Bureau of Indian Standards kickstarted the fourth phase of mandatory hallmarking from November 5, under the Hallmarking of Gold Jewelery and Gold Artefacts Amendment Order, 2024.
“Following the implementation of the fourth stage, the total number of districts covered under Mandatory Hallmarking now stands at 361,” the official statement added.
The first phase of mandatory hallmarking was launched on June 23, 2021. and covered 256 districts while the second phase commenced from April 4, 2022, where 32 districts were added further. This was followed by the third phase which was implemented from September 6, 2023 and covered 55 newly added districts, the statement added.
“The proactive measure by the Government of India has triggered over 4 lakh gold items being hallmarked with a unique HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) number per day. Since the launch of Mandatory Hallmarking, the number of registered jewelers has increased from 34,647 to 1,94,039. Similarly, the number of Assaying and Hallmarking Centers (AHCs) has grown from 945 to 1,622,” the official statement added.