The ISI mark is a standards-compliance mark for industrial products in India since 1950. The mark certifies that a product conforms to an Indian standard (IS) developed by the

Bureau of Indian Standards The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government ...

(BIS), the national standards body of India. The ''ISI'' is an

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

of ''Indian Standards Institution'', the name of the national standards body until 1 January 1978, when it was renamed to the Bureau of the Indian Standards. The ISI mark is mandatory for certain products to be sold in India, such as electrical appliances including switches,

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

s, wiring cables, heaters, kitchen appliances, etc., and other products like

Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...

, LPG valves, LPG cylinders, automotive tyres, etc. In the case of most other products, ISI marks are optional.

Counterfeiting

It is very common in India to find products with fake ISI marks. That is, industrial traders cheat customers by affixing ISI marks on the product without actually being certified. Fake ISI marks usually do not carry :(i) the mandatory 7 or 8-digit license number (of the format CM/L-''xxxxxxx'', where ''x'' signifies a digit from the license number) required by BIS. :(ii) the IS number on top of the ISI mark which signifies the Indian standard a particular product is in compliance with. For example, if a kitchen grinder's box has a small ISI mark on it with the ISI code of the appliance's wire, one can conclude that the wire is BIS-certified but the appliance itself is not an BIS-certified product. Counterfeiting ISI marks is a punishable offence by the law, but enforcement is uncommon.

Notes

References

{{Reflist Certification marks in India Industry in India Standards of India

Counterfeiting

See also

Notes

References