India imported 880 tons of gold worth Rs 59,000 crore, and during the current year 1,200 tons worth Rs 84,000 crore will be imported of which 80 percent is utilized in jewellery making, Bhatia informed.
India will soon to sign the Vienna convention on international standards and once it is done, Bhatia opined that domestic jewellery exporters will benefit the most as the Indian hallmarking will gain international acceptance.
Hallmarking for silverware also has been embarked upon by BIS, he stated.
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka has about 60 BIS licensee jewellers each followed by 120 each in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
India has 33 hallmarking centres and about 1,200 licensed BIS jewellers among the total about three lakh jewelers in the country.
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