The jewellery bodies are against the government’s Hallmarking Unique ID (HUID) system which they said has nothing to do with the purity of gold but is just a tracking mechanism. Speaking with PTI, All India Gem Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) Director Dinesh Jain said, “There has been a very strong response to a nationwide strike against the HUID system. Shops are closed for a day.” 

Big corporates in the jewellery sector never participate in such strikes. Mostly individual and family-run jewellery shops in all four zones are shut for a day, he said. 

However, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, shops were shut till 12.30 pm due to the Onam festival, he said. 

Jain also said the protesting jewellers will make a representation to district collectors against the gold hallmarking rules. 

Mandatory gold hallmarking, a purity certification of the precious metal, has come into force from June 16 in a phased manner. The government has identified 256 districts from 28 states and union territories for the phase-1 implementation.