Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) celebrated its 79th Foundation Day at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, marking nearly eight decades of contribution to India’s industrial development, quality infrastructure and economic sovereignty.
On this occasion, BIS launched multiple digital, academic and inclusion-focused initiatives, including the BIS Standardization Portal (Beta), SHINE women empowerment scheme, education literature on Rashtriya e-Pustakalay, MoUs with premier institutes, and BIS–SAKSHAM excellence scheme.
Key Initiatives Launched
1. BIS Standardization Portal (Beta Version)
What it is
- A future-ready digital platform integrating the entire standards development lifecycle on a single interface.
Core Features
- Covers proposal → formulation → review → publication of standards.
- Dedicated modules for:
- Standards Formulation
- Review
- Expert Collaboration
- Data-driven dashboards and role-based access.
- Improves transparency, inclusivity, efficiency and speed in standards formulation.
Significance
- Reduces procedural delays.
- Enables real-time stakeholder participation.
- Strengthens evidence-based and collaborative standardisation.
2. SHINE – Women Empowerment through Standards
SHINE (Standards Help Inform & Nurture Empowered Women)
- A new BIS initiative placing women at the centre of India’s quality movement.
- Implemented through:
- Structured training programmes
- Partnerships with NGOs and Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
- Local, grassroots delivery
Focus Areas
- Safety and quality awareness related to:
- Food, toys, health products
- Kitchen safety
- Digital tools
Objective
- Transform women from consumers to community change agents, linking:
- Household well-being
- Livelihood security
- National quality consciousness
3. BIS Educational Literature on Rashtriya e-Pustakalay
- BIS developed comic books (print + 2D animation) under the BIS Educational Series.
- Aim: Build quality, safety and standards awareness among children.
- Content focuses on:
- Indian Standards
- Safety
- Counterfeit product awareness
Platform
- Available free of cost on Rashtriya e-Pustakalay:
- Flagship digital library by Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education
- Over 3.17 lakh registered users, curated for children and adolescents
Impact
- Makes the “Science of Standards” an integral part of school learning.
4. MoUs with Academic Institutions
New MoU Partners
- IIIT Dharwad
- IIT Palakkad
- NIT Arunachal Pradesh
Objectives
- Integrate Indian standards into academic curricula.
- Expand pre-standardisation R&D.
- Create Standards-ready engineering professionals.
Current Academic Outreach
- 21,000+ students enrolled
- 400+ BIS Student Chapters
- Standards integrated into curricula of 27 institutes
- 17 Standardisation Chairs established nationwide
5. BIS–SAKSHAM Scheme
BIS–SAKSHAM
(Scheme for Acknowledging Knowledge, Skills and High-impact Merit)
- Annual excellence recognition framework within BIS ecosystem.
- Encourages:
- Professional excellence
- Knowledge leadership
- High-impact contributions to standardisation
Special Recognition
- Shri Amandeep Singh (DGM, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd.)
- Conferred the 1906 IEC Award
- For contributions to IEC Working Group, leveraging Indian expertise in UHV transmission engineering.
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
Institutional Profile
- Established: 6 January 1947 (as Indian Standards Institution – ISI)
- Became BIS under BIS Act, 1986
- Expanded mandate under BIS Act, 2016 to include:
- Goods
- Services
- Processes and systems
Administrative Ministry
- Department of Consumer Affairs
- Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Key Functions
- National Standards formulation
- Product certification (ISI mark, CRS, Hallmarking)
- Services, systems and process standards
- National Metrology support
- Global standardisation leadership
Scale & Reach
- 23,300+ Indian Standards in force
- Develops ~2 new standards per day
- 649 new standards and 1,000+ revisions in the last year
- 400+ Technical Committees and 1,500 Working Groups
Research & Evidence-based Standards
- 172 pre-standardisation R&D projects in premier institutes
- 3,144 Action Research Projects (ARPs) for review of existing standards
- 41 Standardisation Cells in Ministries
- 102 Cells in industry associations
MSME & Inclusive Growth Support
- 80% fee concession for micro enterprises & startups
- 50% concession for small enterprises
- Additional 10% concession for:
- North-Eastern States
- Women entrepreneurs
Certification Reforms
- 94% of domestic certifications granted within 30 days
- Mandatory hallmarking expanded to 363 districts
- Over 1 crore jewellery items hallmarked per month
- Pilot photography-based transparency at hallmarking centres
Global Leadership & Standards Diplomacy
- Hosts 14 ISO/IEC Global Secretariat roles
- Leads standards in:
- AI
- Software & systems engineering
- Electronics
- Ayurveda & Yoga
- Under ITEC, capacity building for:
- 30 African
- 10 Latin American countries