Several Initiatives on 79th Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Foundation Day
Role and Reach of BIS
BIS is India’s National Standards Body, functioning under the Department of Consumer Affairs.
It currently has over 23,300 Indian Standards in force, covering safety, quality, reliability, and global competitiveness across sectors.
BIS supports innovation, digital transformation, MSMEs, consumer protection, and international standardisation.
Support for MSMEs and Capacity Building
Concessions in Annual Minimum Marking Fee:
80% for Micro Enterprises
50% for Small Enterprises
20% for Medium Enterprises
Launch of e-learning modules for quality control personnel to enhance skills and awareness.
Hallmarking and Consumer Protection
Silver HUID Hallmarking Scheme, launched on 1 September 2025, marks a major reform:
Over 21 lakh silver articles already hallmarked.
Silver hallmarking remains voluntary, but HUID-based marking is mandatory from 1 September 2025.
The reform enhances transparency, traceability, and consumer trust.
Key Initiatives Launched on Foundation Day
Beta Launch of BIS Standardisation Portal
A fully integrated, digital, end-to-end platform for standards development.
Covers proposal, formulation, review, expert collaboration, and publication.
Features role-based access, data dashboards, and improved transparency.
Women Empowerment – SHINE Scheme
“Standards Help Inform & Nurture Empowered Women”
Focuses on training women through NGOs and Self-Help Groups.
Positions women as quality ambassadors and change agents in communities.
BIS Educational Literature on Rashtriya e-Pustakalay
Comic books and 2D animated content to educate children on standards, safety, and quality.
Available for free reading on the national digital library platform.
Aims to inculcate quality consciousness from an early age.
Academia Engagement and MoUs
MoUs signed with:
IIIT Dharwad
IIT Palakkad
NIT Arunachal Pradesh
Objectives include:
Integrating Indian Standards into curricula
Expanding pre-standardisation R&D
Creating standards-ready engineers
BIS Student Chapters:
Over 21,000 students enrolled across 400+ institutions
Standards integrated into curricula of 27 institutes
17 Standardisation Chairs established nationwide
Recognition and Awards
Launch of BIS–SAKSHAM, an Annual Excellence Recognition Scheme to acknowledge high-impact contributions within BIS.
Shri Amandeep Singh, DGM, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd., awarded the prestigious 1906 IEC Award for contributions to IEC standardisation in UHV transmission engineering.
Consumer Trust and Communication
BIS plays a key role in strengthening consumer confidence and supporting Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Emphasis on:
Simple and relatable communication of standards
Digital outreach tools such as the BIS Care App
Increased stakeholder participation through digital platforms
BIS Achievements and Digital Transformation (2025)
Over 600 new standards developed in 2025 alone.
Total Indian Standards increased to 23,293.
Major growth in product certification:
Fast-track certified products increased from 758 to 1,288
9,700 new licences granted in 2025, mostly within 30 days
Total licences crossed 51,500
124 new products brought under mandatory certification in 2025.
Total certified products now exceed 1,437, including:
Currency note sorting machines (with RBI)
Injection moulding machines aligned with ISO safety standards
Licensing efficiency:
98% of simplified procedure licences
85% of normal procedure licences granted within 30 days
Overall Significance
The Foundation Day reaffirmed BIS’s role as a key pillar of India’s quality infrastructure.
Emphasised digital transformation, global leadership, inclusive growth, and consumer trust.
Reinforced the national vision of making “Made in India” products globally trusted, aligned with Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.
Online Ticket Booking for ASI Monuments & Museums on ONDC
Initiating Authority
The initiative has been launched by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
Scope of the Initiative
Online ticket booking has been enabled for over 170 centrally protected monuments and museums across India.
Covers some of the country’s most iconic heritage sites and museums, benefiting both domestic and international visitors.
Integration with ONDC
ASI’s ticketing system has been integrated with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
ONDC is an open, interoperable digital network, allowing services to be accessed through multiple applications rather than a single proprietary platform.
Key Benefits for Visitors
Visitors can book entry tickets through multiple ONDC-enabled digital platforms, enhancing convenience and accessibility.
Online booking allows visitors to skip physical ticket queues, ensuring faster and smoother entry at monuments and museums.
Maintains existing ticket incentives:
₹5 discount for Indian visitors
₹50 discount for foreign nationals
Improved Public Service Delivery
The integration strengthens transparency, efficiency, and ease of access in public service delivery.
Promotes a citizen-centric digital experience for heritage tourism.
Supports seamless access for visitors from India and abroad.
Technical Enablement
The integration has been technically enabled by NDML (NSDL Database Management Limited).
NDML has onboarded ASI’s entire inventory of monuments and museums onto the ONDC Network.
Current Ticketing Platforms
Tickets are presently available through:
Highway Delite (Web, Android, iOS)
Pelocal via a WhatsApp-based ticketing system (booking initiated by sending “Hi” to a designated number)
Abhee by Mondee (Android and iOS)
Several more consumer-facing applications are in the process of being integrated with ONDC.
Overall Significance
The initiative marks a significant step in digitising heritage tourism services.
Aligns with India’s broader push for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and open digital ecosystems.
Enhances visitor experience while preserving efficiency, transparency, and inclusivity in accessing cultural heritage.
Shrutlekh Enabled Multilingual Communication at TiE Global Summit 2026
Event and Organisers
The 10th edition of the TiE Global Summit – Rajasthan Chapter was held on 4–5 January 2026 at the Jaipur Exhibition & Convention Centre (JECC).
The event was organised in collaboration with the Department of Information Technology & Communication, Government of Rajasthan.
The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) participated in the summit.
Live Demonstration of Shrutlekh
BHASHINI demonstrated Shrutlekh, an AI-powered speech-to-text and multilingual translation tool, in a live governance setting.
The demonstration included the re-telecast of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s address delivered at the AI Action Summit, Paris (11 February 2025).
Shrutlekh provided real-time multilingual translation, enabling wider understanding of the Prime Minister’s views on responsible, inclusive, and sustainable AI.
Key Features of Shrutlekh Deployment
Enabled real-time speech recognition, transcription, and translation.
Supported English–Hindi translation using Auto Language Detection (ALD).
Seamlessly adapted to speakers switching languages mid-speech.
Demonstrated the ability of language AI to reduce communication barriers and improve accessibility at large public forums.
Use in High-Level Sessions
Shrutlekh was used during:
The welcome address by the IT Secretary, Government of Rajasthan.
A speech by a Cabinet Minister.
On 5 January 2026, it enabled multilingual access to the session:
“Leadership Beyond Labels: Women, Power & Public Service”.
Former Union Minister Smt. Smriti Irani spoke on empowering women-led micro-enterprises, with real-time translation ensuring inclusive participation.
Insights from Digital India BHASHINI Leadership
Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI Division, spoke during the panel:
“From Maps to Markets: Building Technology Platforms That Power Everyday India”.
He emphasised that high-quality, diverse, and representative language data is essential for building accurate AI models for Indian languages and dialects.
Highlighted that language data creation is a collaborative effort, involving governments, academia, startups, and citizens.
Stated that BHASHINI’s initial focus has been on governance and service delivery through voice-enabled multilingual communication.
Outlined future plans to partner with enterprises to improve:
Supply chains
Logistics
Internal efficiency
Customer engagement using language and voice technologies
Emphasised the importance of mother-tongue-based education and large-scale translation of educational content.
Challenged the notion that “what is good in language is also good in knowledge”, stressing the need to strengthen learning outcomes.
Outcomes and Significance
The summit strengthened engagement between BHASHINI and the Government of Rajasthan.
Provided a platform to:
Demonstrate real-world applications of language AI
Exchange ideas with ecosystem stakeholders
Identify future collaboration opportunities
Focus areas for future collaboration include:
Language data creation
Deployment of multilingual tools
Inclusive, citizen-centric digital governance initiatives at the state level
IEPFA Organised a “Niveshak Shivir”
The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, organised a “Niveshak Shivir” (Investor Facilitation Camp) in Bengaluru on 3 January 2026.
The event was conducted in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs).
The camp was held at Sri Y Muniswamappa Kalyaana Mantapa, Yeswanthpur, Bengaluru, serving as a single-window facilitation platform for investors.
The primary objective of the Niveshak Shivir was to assist investors in resolving issues related to:
Unclaimed dividends
Unclaimed shares
Pending IEPFA claims
KYC and nomination updates
Investor grievances
Over 900 investors and claimants from Bengaluru and nearby regions actively participated in the one-day camp.
Investors received on-the-spot support for claims pending for six to seven years, significantly reducing processing time.
The event was attended by senior officials from IEPFA, SEBI, MIIs, and Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTAs), ensuring direct interaction and faster resolution.
Dedicated kiosks were set up by companies and RTAs, allowing investors to:
Engage directly with officials
Eliminate intermediaries
Expedite claim processing
The initiative was widely appreciated for its efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness, helping resolve grievances that otherwise take months.
IEPFA launched an explainer booklet titled “A Complete Guide to IEPFA Claims and Investor Services” to enhance investor awareness and simplify the claim process.
The Bengaluru camp followed successful Niveshak Shivir editions held in Pune, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Amritsar.
The Niveshak Shivir is part of IEPFA’s nationwide investor outreach programme, targeting cities with high volumes of unclaimed investments.
The initiative underscores IEPFA’s commitment to:
Investor education and protection
Transparency and trust in the financial ecosystem
Accessible and citizen-centric investor services
e-Production Investment Business Visa (e-B-4 Visa)
Overview
India has introduced a new electronic business visa called the e-Production Investment Business Visa (e-B-4 Visa).
The visa is specifically aimed at Chinese businessmen traveling to India for defined business purposes.
The initiative responds to the growing demand for business visas between India and China.
Key Features of the e-B-4 Visa
Introduced on:January 1
Application mode:
Fully online application
No requirement to visit the Indian Embassy or use visa agents
Processing time:
Approximately 45–50 days
Duration of stay:
Permission to stay in India for up to six months
Permitted Business Activities
Installation of equipment
Commissioning of machinery
Other specific production- and investment-related business activities
Official Advisory
Details were released through a recent advisory on the Indian Embassy website.
The advisory clarifies eligibility, application procedure, and timelines.
Purpose and Significance
Facilitates ease of doing business for Chinese investors and technical professionals.
Supports India’s goals related to:
Manufacturing
Production-linked investments
Industrial collaboration
Signals a controlled but pragmatic approach to business engagement with Chinese firms.
