The government will make hallmarking for gold jewellery and artifacts mandatory from January 15, 2020, to ensure quality, Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday. At least 1 year time will be given for implementing mandatory hallmarking. The government will make hallmarking mandatory for 14 carats, 16 carats, 18 carats, 20 carats and 22-carat jewellery from 1 January.

For this, 400 to 500 new accessing centres will be opened. At present, there are more than 700 accessing centres in the country. However, one year period will be provided for implementation of this decision to enable jewellers clear their existing stock. At present, only 40 % of gold and silver jewellery are hallmarked. India is the largest importer of gold, which mainly caters to the demand of the jewellery industry. India imports around 700-800 tonnes of gold every year.