The hoard of junk mail, spam calls, fishy SMS, and other long ordeal of terrors that come with the boom of technology are painstakingly disturbing. The statistics show around 26% of Indian organization’s fall prey to filthy scams online and lose millions in its wake. Online fraud cases have been on a rising toll for the past three years. However, the fraud isn’t just limited to digital platforms. Often people have a way with smartphones but aren’t much aware of the technicalities, which may make them prey to duping.
Selling duplicates or rip-offs of originals is not uncommon, as the uncanny resemblance can sometimes be hard to differentiate. The network of the scam hasn’t gone unnoticed by the eyes of authority. Paying heed to the growing issue, the Government of India launched a BIS app to help people verify duplicates.
Bureau of Indian Standards
BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016. It was constituted to develop standardization activities, along with handing out certification of marking and quality for any goods and other related matters.
This national body has substantiated numerous benefits for the national economy in a short time since its establishment. Providing reliable products of fine quality has also helped reduce potential health hazards for consumers by maintaining the authenticity and quality of the goods. BIS monitors varieties ‘ proliferation through standardization, certification, and testing tools, promoting exports and substitute imports.
BIS App
In 2020, the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution launched the Bureau of Indian Standards Mobile app called BIS-care along with its three portals, namely Standardization, Conformity Assessment, and Training Portals of e-BIS for consumers to directly avail the services of BIS.
The app can work on any Android Phone in Hindi and English. The app would allow consumers to extract information about the originality of any product. This could be done by checking the authenticity of the ISI-marked or hallmarked goods. You can register a complaint on the app if the product fails to clear its originality. The objective is to make customers vigilant about the standards and quality of the goods they are consuming.
Other Provisions
The government has also provided the integrated portal of e-BIS, which covers all the functions of BIS and lists the agencies responsible for market surveillance. Formulating Quality Control Orders (QCO) is another critical role played by BIS which focuses on collaborating with different Ministries to attain the status of the same.
To inculcate better indulgence of consumers and pay improved heed to their complaints, BIS aims to develop a portal for Consumer Engagement. Another key initiative of BIS is implementing One Nation, One Standard. BIS aims to align with the goals of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan by making the consumer self-sufficient and protecting from any market malpractices.
