UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Bureau of Indian Standards Hallmarking

Q1. A hallmarked gold bangle weighing 20 g carries the purity mark 18K750. Approximately what mass of the bangle consists of metals other than gold?

  • A. About 15 g
  • B. About 12.5 g
  • C. About 7.5 g
  • D. About 5 g

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Gold intended for jewellery is commonly alloyed with metals such as copper or silver rather than used in its pure form.
  2. The purity mark on a hallmarked gold article expresses gold content as parts per thousand by mass of the alloy.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to the purity marks on hallmarked gold jewellery in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A 22K article contains a larger proportion of alloying metals than an 18K article of the same weight.
  2. Of two articles of equal weight, one marked 18K and the other 14K, the 18K article contains more gold.
  3. The karat figure in the purity mark indicates the mass of the article, in the same way as the carat used for weighing gemstones.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q4. Hallmarking of gold jewellery in India now combines purity certification with item-level traceability. Consider the following features of the system: Which of the above serve the purpose of traceability rather than merely certifying purity?

  1. An alphanumeric code generated separately for each article after it is tested
  2. A mark stating the caratage and fineness of the article, such as 22K916
  3. A record of hallmarked articles passing from one jeweller to another
  4. Time-stamped machine data linking the testing of an article to its subsequent laser marking at a particular centre
  • A. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Q5. A consumer buys a hallmarked gold chain at a jewellery shop and is billed by weight. In this context, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The hallmark certifies the purity of the chain but does not by itself certify the accuracy of the weighing scale used at the shop counter.
  2. Accuracy of weights and measures used in trade falls under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, a regime separate from purity standards under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.
  3. Verifying the chain's HUID can show the consumer the weight of the article recorded at the time of hallmarking.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q6. With reference to X-ray fluorescence (XRF), used to assay gold articles at hallmarking centres, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It identifies the elements in a sample from the characteristic energies of secondary X-rays emitted by the sample after it is excited by incident X-rays.
  2. It requires a small portion of the article to be scraped off and melted, so some loss of metal is unavoidable.
  3. Because it probes mainly the near-surface region, a thick gold layer over a base-metal core can mislead the reading.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 only

Q7. Consider a market for gold jewellery in which buyers cannot verify the purity of an article at the time of purchase, while sellers know the true purity of what they sell. Which of the following inferences can validly be drawn?

  1. Buyers will tend to offer prices based on the purity they expect on average, rather than on the true purity of a particular piece.
  2. Sellers of genuinely high-purity articles may find it harder to obtain a price that reflects their quality.
  3. Credible third-party certification of purity can reduce the discount that buyers apply because of uncertainty.
  4. Making purity certification compulsory will, by itself, eliminate all purity-related fraud in the market.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Q8. Consider the following assertion: HUID-based hallmarking reduces the information gap between jewellers and buyers of gold jewellery. Which of the following statements support the above assertion?

  1. A buyer can use a public verification app to retrieve the purity, jeweller and testing centre linked to an article's HUID.
  2. The HUID is generated by the BIS server only after the article has been tested at a recognised centre.
  3. Registration of jewellers with BIS is free of cost and valid for a lifetime.
  4. The verification record includes photographs and the recorded weight of the article, letting a buyer match the physical item with the record.
  • A. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only