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The India Gem & Jewellery Show (GJS) at Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre on April 5, 2025, saw Union Minister Pralhad Joshi commemorate the 25th anniversary of gold hallmarking in India and inaugurate a National Hackathon for non‑destructive testing (NDT) of jewellery.
Organized by the All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) and supported by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the event brought together leading jewellers, trade representatives and international visitors to celebrate two and a half decades of consumer protection and quality assurance in the gold sector.
India’s hallmarking scheme began in April 2000, when the BIS introduced official purity certification for gold jewellery, and expanded to silver in December 2005.
In June 2021, the government made hallmarking of gold jewellery mandatory, resulting in over 442.8 million items being officially marked to date. This framework built on unique Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) codes and accredited Assaying & Hallmarking Centres has been pivotal in safeguarding consumers against adulteration and bolstering India’s reputation in the global gold market.
At GJS, Minister Joshi praised jewellers for their adoption of hallmarking standards, noting the regime’s role in protecting buyers and enhancing export competitiveness. He announced that BIS and GJC will jointly launch a National Hackathon to source scalable, cost‑effective NDT solutions, enabling jewelers to verify metal purity without damaging pieces.
The hackathon aims to stimulate innovative approaches such as portable spectrometry, advanced imaging and machine‑learning algorithms to streamline compliance and foster industry‑wide adoption of next‑generation testing technologies.
Industry stakeholders welcomed the hackathon as a catalyst for research and development. By engaging technology startups, academic institutions and testing laboratories, the initiative seeks to bridge gaps in existing methodologies and reduce reliance on traditional destructive assays. Such advances could lower costs, accelerate turnaround times and further strengthen consumer confidence in hallmarking certificates.
Observers also noted that expanding hallmarking infrastructure currently mandatory in 361 districts and supported by over 650 BIS‑accredited laboratories remains crucial as demand grows for authenticated precious‑metal products across urban and rural markets .
As the jewellery sector embraces digital transformation, the combination of a robust regulatory framework and targeted innovation efforts underscores India’s commitment to quality and transparency. The hackathon’s outcomes are expected to inform future BIS standards and potentially influence global best practices in precious‑metal testing.
With hallmarking now a cornerstone of consumer protection, the programme’s next phase will focus on integrating emerging NDT technologies, expanding accreditation networks and reinforcing India’s position as a world leader in certified jewellery production.
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