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The sale of hallmarked gold ornaments is going to be mandatory across Odisha from April 1. The gold jewellery sold in the market will have to be hallmarked with a six-digit alphanumeric HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification).
From April 1 onwards, there would be no confusion regarding the purity of the gold. Since the price of the yellow metal is ever-increasing, people are always careful while buying gold ornaments. The fear of being duped is always there.
However, this fear is no longer going to haunt them. While the sale of hallmarked gold jewellery was earlier made compulsory in nine districts of the State, the same will be made mandatory across the State from April 1.
People welcomed the decision of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
“When we go to any shop to buy jewellery, we are told that the ornament is either 22-carat or 24-carat gold. But how can we know whether it is 22-carat or 24-carat gold? Now that the government has taken a step to ensure we shouldn’t be cheated, we are sure that we are getting what we are paying for. It is welcome,” said Amisha Panda, a buyer.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) organized an awareness camp to sensitize the jewellery shop owners.
“From April 1, no one can sell gold jewellery without having a HUID hallmark. If anyone is found selling non-hallmarked gold ornaments, they will be arrested and their shops will be seized,” said Jagannath Majhi, head of Bhubaneswar branch, BIS.
“The gold ornaments to be sold after April 1 will have three marks. The first one is the BIS logo, the second one is the symbol of purity and the third one is the HUID. The HUID is a six-digit alphanumeric code with the help of which any jewellery item can be traced,” said Sourav Chandra, scientist, BIS Bhubaneswar.
With the help of the BIS CARE App, a customer can not only know the purity of the gold s/he is buying but also all the information regarding the manufacturer, the organization which did the hallmarking and the shop/showroom selling the jewellery.
“There are 28 hallmarking centers in Odisha. More such centers are also coming up as hallmarking has been made mandatory,” said Dillip Kumar Barik, owner, Sampark Hallmarking Centre.
When asked, jewellery store manager, Dinabandhu Mishra said, “The customers need be worried. Customers can sell us non-KDM gold, but sellers can’t do the same. They can exchange the non-KDM jewellery with the pure gold ornaments.”
(Reported by Kapilendra Pradhan, OTV)
