The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is an organization entrusted with the task of making sure various products that are being used in the nation are of good quality and safe. Within recent amendments several Indian standards, especially on welders' requirements, welding electrodes, welding rods, and even electrical steel specifications have been reviewed with great modification, to improve the precision of manufacture and reliability of the product as per international standards. The continuation of safety for consumers and industry growth would be guaranteed by the implementation of these amendments, thereby instilling trust in products being brought to the market.

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Overview of the Amendments

A new amendment notice by the Bureau of Indian Standards came into effect on 14th January 2025. The amendments were carried out in five standards. The amendments include modifications of cold-rolled grain-oriented electrical steel strip specifications, welding rods for structural steel specifications, specifications for cold-rolled medium and high carbon steel strips, food-grade Acesulfame Potassium specifications, and the criteria for structural safety of tall concrete buildings.

These amendments revise the standards for classification, chemical composition, testing requirements, and marking to raise the quality level of compliance. For each amendment, new tolerances and requirements set for manufacturers ensure that their products will be safer and more efficient. The revisions target international compliance, aiming to ensure an overall rise in quality control among industries.

Benefits of the Amendments

• Increased efficiency and performance: In the case of electrical steel strips and welding rods, the newer rules will advance the quality by international standards, hence they'll work efficiently as well as get reliable results. 
• Increased quality control: With new tolerance regulations and testing criteria of products, manufacturing is ensured on high precision that creates better quality matching the severe demands of safety performance.
• Better market competitiveness: By adopting international standards, Indian products become better competitors in the world market. They get higher credit and acceptability across the world.
• Consumer confidence and safety: The updated standards and their marking guidelines like the BIS Certification Mark help to build confidence among the customers about the safety and reliability of a product. This enhances greater trust and satisfaction among buyers.
• Compliance with rules: The recent amendments would enable manufacturers and importers to follow the updated rules and regulations. It decreases the possibility of importing low-quality products. Otherwise, the quality standards are bound to improve constantly.

Also Read: BIS Updates Standards for Metallurgical Materials: A Step Toward Safer and Reliable Products

Analysis of the Amendments in the Indian Standards

1. IS 3024:2015 - Cold Rolled Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Strip and Sheet

Amendment number 3 brings some major upgrades towards the improvement of efficiency in electrical steel products utilized in transformers and magnetic applications. It specifically mentions the following changes:

• New rules for grades of electrical steel have been drafted based on the total loss in watts per kilogram.
• Thickness now ranges from 0.18 mm to 0.35 mm in place of the previous version.
• Core loss and polarization information for Conventional Grain-Oriented (CGO) electrical steel.
• HPGO steel is a product that now contains core loss values revised to conform to the world market standards.
• There is a trend of optimizing stacking factors for increasing material density and for exacting tolerances in thickness to better the manufacturing process.

2. IS 6419:1996 - Welding Rods and Bare Electrodes

Amendment number 2 modifies welding rod specifications used for gas-shielded arc welding of structural steels. Amongst some of the important modifications are the following.

• Updated references ensure that all standards are used up to the latest available and improve understanding of chemical analysis and welding methods.
• Diameter tolerances for welding rods are updated for a better fit for quality assurance purposes.
• Revised limits on the chemical composition of filler rods and wires help ensure tight quality control.
• These new products can, therefore, carry the BIS certification mark, enhancing trust among consumers.

3. IS 7226:1974 - Cold-Rolled Medium, High Carbon, and Low Alloy Steel Strips

Amendment number 1 brings changes to the specifications of cold-rolled steel strips, each lot shall bear all significant details, such as the maker's name, grade, size, and cast number. This would ensure a trace back to where a product comes from. Products complying with safety shall be permitted to carry the Certification Mark of BIS. Such a mark shall establish that the product is safe for use and complies with proper standards.

4. IS 15970:2013 - Acesulfame Potassium, Food Grade

Amendment number 1 focuses on Acesulfame Potassium specifications, the material should dissolve easily in water or very slightly in ethanol. Another change is the test for the quantity of the product. Instead of the range being 99.0% to 100.0%, it is now 99.0% to 101.0%. These modifications ensure that the product is good and remains consistent in quality every time it is produced.

5. IS 16700:2023 - Structural Safety Criteria for Tall Concrete Buildings

Amendment number 1 updates criteria related to structural safety, important variables that are defined in clause modifications include the seismic zone factor, height of attachment, and the component amplification factor. All these enable an understanding of how buildings behave during an earthquake. Other important parameters are the importance factor, non-structural weight, total height of the building, and the response modification factor. Updating the table heads with recent dates makes it relatively easier to grasp the factors of component amplification and distributed systems' response modification.

Also Read: BIS Rolls Out Updated Specifications: Key Reforms in IS 537:2025 and IS 1460:2025

Implementation Timeline

The new changes in Indian standards would be effective from January 14, 2025. Manufacturers and other concerned parties will have a compliance window until July 13, 2025. The 6 months are offered to ensure that all the parties affected by these changes are provided with sufficient time to understand the new specifications completely and incorporate the same into their respective processes. The phased approach is designed to make the process smooth, without any disruption in production, and still adhere to the updated standards. The new demands must be met by July, setting another milestone in the implementation of such revised standards.

Implications of the Amendments to the Stakeholders

The amendments that have recently been brought forth by the BIS shall have multifaceted impacts on some other stakeholders also, that include manufacturers and consumers. These updates mean stricter quality control for the manufacturers and a need to meet new specifications, which may even necessitate a change in the production process. This may incur more costs in the short run but will eventually improve product safety and reliability. 

With this improvement, better quality and safety will reach consumers, who in turn can feel more secure in the products they are consuming from the market. Indian industries would also find greater competitiveness due to products made with international standards being more acceptable around the world. In short, these reforms try to build a safe consumer environment, yet support the growth and development of an industry. This phased implementation allows enough time for all the stakeholders to be accustomed to the new standards, hence with a better transition.

Conclusion

The recent amendment by the BIS brings an improvement in the quality and safety levels of products. Improved standards in electrical steel strips, welding rods, and other products bring Indian products to par with international standards. This increases the confidence and performance level. These changes have been made to protect consumers, make the products safer and more reliable, and aid Indian industries in competing better on a global basis. The amendments would ensure proper implementation of new standards, which would create a secure consumer environment and support industry growth.