Indians cheated from buying impure jewellery: Govt

New Delhi, Mar 6: Indian consumers lose an estimated Rs 6,000 crore every year from buying impure gold jewellery, the Government today (Mar 6, 2006) said.

A survey by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has shown that there is an average shortage of purity by 11 per cent, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Taslimuddin told the Lok Sabha.

India consumes about 880 tonnes of gold every year, as much as 80 per cent of which goes into the making of jewellery. Based on an average 11 per cent shortage in purity, the actual loss to consumers could be about Rs 6,000 crore annually, he said.

BIS has launched a Hallmarking Scheme for gold jewellery to protect the interests of the consumers, Mr Taslimuddin added.

UNI