The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formulated new standards for India’s e‑mobility sector, covering safety for charging stations, battery storage, and battery charging, and is continuing work on devising standards for battery swapping, BIS Director General Pramod Kumar Tiwari said.
Speaking at a press conference during the IEC General Meeting in New Delhi, Tiwari noted, “For e‑mobility, we have already developed several standards. They relate basically to the safety of the charging stations, battery storage, safe battery charging, etc. A lot of work is also happening in other areas. Battery swapping is one area. And the sky is the limit.”
BIS, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, functions as India’s national standards body. The government has introduced multiple policies and initiatives aimed at accelerating EV adoption.
Tiwari said that ensuring quality, safety, reliability, compatibility, and interoperability are essential for EV infrastructure—whether charging stations or battery‑swap facilities.
He added that many standards already exist pertaining to battery storage and charging, while others remain under development.
On artificially intelligence, Tiwari remarked that it is a rapidly evolving field and remains a priority. He said that BIS has standardized definitional aspects of AI and is working on many other verticals.
Under the CRS scheme (administered by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), 65 products have been identified that cannot be manufactured or imported without BIS certification, he noted.
He also revealed that nearly 700 products are under mandatory certification.
When asked how new products are chosen for mandatory certification, Tiwari explained that ministries decide, while BIS’ role is to familiarise them with new standards and encourage adoption.
A high‑level committee led by former Cabinet Secretary and current NITI Aayog member Rajiv Gauba has been set up to examine the obstacles facing industry in securing these approvals, as well as to identify process and standards bottlenecks hurting competitiveness and productivity. Tiwari said its work is ongoing.
BIS also runs schemes such as Product Certification (ISI mark), Management Systems Certification, Hallmarking for gold and silver jewellery/artifacts, and laboratory services—each intended to support industry and protect consumers.
On the topic of hallmarking, bullion (which refers to precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, not jewellery) is under consideration. Stakeholder consultations have identified several challenges that need to be addressed before moving forward.
