The left-handed batter scored 3369 runs in 136 one-day internationals and 2893 in 140 Twenty20 internationals — both Pakistan records
India, the world’s second-largest gold consumer, implemented mandatory hallmarking on the yellow metal’s jewellery and related items from Wednesday in a long-delayed move to reposition the nation as a leading global gold market centre.
As per the new guidelines, jewellers across India will now be allowed to sell gold items of only 14, 18 and 22 carats. The hallmarking will be implemented in a phased manner, said Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
“Continuing our government’s endeavour for better protection and satisfaction of customers, mandatory hallmarking in 256 districts will be implemented from June 16. No penalty will be imposed till August 2021. This will help develop India as a leading global gold market centre,” he tweeted.
The hallmarking is required to enhance the credibility of gold jewellery and customer satisfaction through third-party assurance for the marked purity/fineness of gold for consumer protection. This step is also expected to help develop India as a leading gold market centre in the world, the ministry said in a statement. Jewellers with annual turnover of up to ₹4 million will be exempted from hallmarking, which is a purity certification of the metal.
While gold hallmarking is currently voluntary in India and not a requirement, the move by the government aims to ensure gold consumers are not cheated by sellers. As per the new rules, if jewellery or an artefact made of 14, 18, or 22-carat gold is sold without the Bureau of Indian Standards hallmark, the jeweller could be penalised five times the cost of the object or imprisoned for up to one year. According to the World Gold Council, India has around 400,000 jewellers, out of which only 35,879 have been BIS-certified.
Hallmarking centres have grown by 25 per cent in the last five years. With the existing capabilities at these centres, India has the capacity to hallmark around 140 million articles per year.
In November 2019, the government announced that hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts would be made mandatory across the country from January 15, 2021. But the deadline has been extended twice amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Watches, fountain pens and special types of jewellery — including Kundan, Polki and Jadau — will be exempted.
“Jewellers can continue to buy back old gold jewellery without hallmark from the consumer. In order to give adequate time to the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of gold jewellery, there would be no penalties till August end. Old jewellery can also be hallmarked as it is, if feasible by the jeweller or after melting and making new jewellery,” the ministry said.
— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
The left-handed batter scored 3369 runs in 136 one-day internationals and 2893 in 140 Twenty20 internationals — both Pakistan records
Food supplies were distributed to 80 households
On January 31, a heart was airlifted from Delhi to Chennai, paving the way for Ayesha Rashid's life-saving surgery
The online retailer, which is headquartered in Singapore, has said it has around 108 million monthly active users in the 27-nation EU
The baby girl named Rouh, meaning Soul, suffered respiratory problems and a weak immune system, a doctor at the Emirati Hospital in Rafah said
Specialised teams are currently managing the situation by cleaning up and removing the dead fish
The charges against them include planning terrorist acts, fundraising for the Organisation, and concealing the source and destination of those funds
Eyewitnesses are reporting that the fire seems to be located in the industrial area