Introduction

The year 1947 witnessed the establishment of ISI whose full form is Indian Standard Institution. Presently it known as the “Bureau of Indian standards”. Its primary goal is to establish standards of quality for consumer and industrial products. A manufacturer who intends to make use of a standard for his product must apply for a license via the ISI’s marking scheme. According to the license, he must follow specific quality control standards.

The ISI inspectors will be on the lookout to see if the producer is upholding the necessary standards. They have the right to gather samples for investigation at any time, including from the open market. After that, the ISI’s laboratories will analyze the samples.

Customers may notify ISI officials if they have questions about the reliability of ISI-marked products. Any such unique complaint dealt with swiftly by the ISI.

If it discovered that a manufacturer abusing the ISI mark, he would entail punishment. The ISI has established laboratories in various parts of India to conduct product research. In particular, the ISI works with the ISO to facilitate India’s involvement in standardization internationally.

ISI: Functions

 ISI entrusted with numerous functions which enumerated as follows:

1. To give effect to commodity, material, and process-related norms
2. To substantiate the processing of products that meet quality norms.
3. The intention of certification is to guarantee the safety of industrial goods.
4. To disseminate standardization-related information
5. At both the national and global levels, to encourage general standards.
6. Protect consumers by assuring that high-quality, well-performing goods are made available.
7. Get rid of needless variations.
8. To reduce the production costs.

ISI Mark: Benefits

1. Products with ISI Mark assures their quality and standardization
2. In event of the customer not satisfied with the quality of the product, the company might exchange it
3. In case the product is of degrading quality then requisite action can be taken against the manufacturer

Examples of products with ISI Mark

 General products that require ISI mark  given below:

1. LPG Cylinders
2. Electrical commodities
3. Food that is packaged
4. drinking water
5. Thermometers
6. Kitchen equipment
7. Grocery items that are packaged

Differentiating original and duplicate ISI Mark

 The consumer must keep his eyes and ears open while investing in buying a product. The market  flooded with duplicate ISI Mark products and therefore it becomes imperative to learn to differentiate the original ISI Mark from the duplicate one.

Products on which it inscribed like “As per ISI standards” etc bound to duplicated.

The ISI logo usually characterized by a rectangular shape. The ratio that needs to note 4:3 Underneath the logo, there a 7 digit license number inscribed followed by CM/L. This number facilitates located the unit where it manufactured.

Does ISI Mark require helmets now?

In pursuance of the notification issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, it mandated that all helmets must showcase the ISI mark that either manufactured or sold in India with effect from June 1, 2021.

According to the ‘Helmet for riders of Two-Wheelers Motor Vehicles (Quality Control) Order, 2020′, each helmet for two-wheelers should therefore obtain BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification, in order sold in a legal manner in India.

The order intended to put a stop to the use of low-quality two-wheeler helmets in the nation, as well as to guarantee protection in the event of a road accident.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, a specific Committee established in response to the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety’s directives, constituted of experts from different fields, comprising doctors from AIIMS and BIS. The committee given the task of developing revised requirements that would allow for the production of lighter, but safer, ISI mark helmets for use on Indian roads.

With the updated BIS requirements in place and a large number of helmet manufacturers in India, the committee believes there will be hefty competition to manufacture lightweight and higher-quality two-wheeler helmets in India.

However, the government eliminated the requirement that the helmet’s weight less than 1.2 kilograms, a regulation that forged back in the year 2018. The specification regarding weight soon phased out after it discovered that it preventing the selling of imported helmets that over the weight limit and did not bear the ISI label.

That said, the updated specification now permits the selling of imported two-wheeler helmets in India, as long as they meet Indian requirements. Since most imported helmets meet international standards including DOT and ECE, they will be legal to use on Indian roads too.

Conclusion

 In a nutshell, it can be concluded that the move that renders the ISI mark for helmets is quite welcoming since it will ensure greater protection of the consumer while on roads. It will act as a guiding step for producers to be diligent while manufacturing safe and sound helmets that must be up to the mark.