Hyderabad: Telangana has the least number of hallmarking centres for gold in the South India. The state has just 10 centres to give BIS approval to gold jewellery which raises doubt on the purity of gold in Telangana.
According Mr. S. Bhowal, the head of the Hyderabad branch of the Bureau of Indian Standards, the trend of hallmarking is less in the city, hence there are just a few centres. While the hallmarking units say they do not have enough customers, jewellers say there aren’t enough centres to get their goods hallmarked.
According to the legal metrology department, Hyderabad has over 2300 shops while only 396 jewellers are have registered with BIS to procure hallmarked gold. Presently there is no rule that all gold jewellery manufacturers have to standardise the gold they sell.
According to a report published in DC, the BIS gives hallmarks for 22, 18 and 14 carat gold based on the amount of gold present. Without the BIS mark it is easy to dupe customers. The customer may realise the difference in purity only at the time of resale.