Rules and safety checks for decor, favours and travel
Plastic items India prohibits, BIS registration for lights and power banks, battery rules for flights, drones and food safety.
This page is general information drawn from the sources cited, not legal advice. Rules change and local authorities may add their own conditions; check with the relevant authority, your venue or a qualified professional before you rely on it.
Single-use plastic: what India prohibits
Weddings use a lot of disposable items, and several of them are now prohibited in India. This matters when you, your decorator or your caterer buy in bulk.
Under the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021, notified on 12 August 2021, India prohibited the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of listed single-use plastic items from 1 July 2022. The first group on the list includes plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks and thermocol (polystyrene) for decoration. The second group includes plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, straws, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners under 100 micron, and stirrers; it does not apply to items made of compostable plastic.
Sources: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Gazette of India (copy published by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board): Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021: notification G.S.R. 571(E), 12 August 2021; Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Government notifies the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibiting identified single use plastic items by 2022 (posted 13 August 2021). Checked 26 October 2026.
The same 2021 amendment rules raised the minimum thickness of plastic carry bags to 75 micron from 30 September 2021 and to 120 micron from 31 December 2022.
Sources: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Gazette of India (copy published by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board): Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021: notification G.S.R. 571(E), 12 August 2021; Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Government notifies the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibiting identified single use plastic items by 2022 (posted 13 August 2021). Checked 26 October 2026.
- Ask the caterer what plates, cups, glasses and cutlery they use.
- Ask the decorator to avoid thermocol cut-outs, plastic flags and plastic balloon sticks.
- Wrap sweet boxes and invitations in paper or cloth instead of plastic film.
Lights and power banks: BIS registration
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) runs a Compulsory Registration Scheme for listed electronic products. The list includes several things wedding families buy.
LED lighting chains, rope lights and self-ballasted LED lamps are on the Bureau of Indian Standards’ Compulsory Registration Scheme list.
Source: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS): Products under Compulsory Certification: Scheme II (Compulsory Registration Scheme). Checked 26 October 2026.
Power banks for portable use are on the Bureau of Indian Standards’ Compulsory Registration Scheme list.
Source: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS): Products under Compulsory Certification: Scheme II (Compulsory Registration Scheme). Checked 26 October 2026.
The free BIS Care app can check a registration number (R-number) under the scheme and accepts complaints about misuse of BIS marks.
Source: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS): BIS apps: BIS Care. Checked 26 October 2026.
Button batteries in decor
Flameless candles, fairy lights and small gadgets can run on button batteries. Children are at many family events, so store spares out of reach and dispose of used ones carefully.
Health Canada warns that a swallowed button battery can cause serious injury: one stuck in the throat can burn through the food pipe in as little as two hours. If you suspect a child has swallowed one, get emergency medical care at once; do not wait for symptoms.
Source: Health Canada: Button battery safety (date modified 29 September 2026). Checked 26 October 2026.
Power banks when flying
Wedding travel can mean flights with phones, chargers and power banks for the whole family.
IATA’s dangerous goods guidance for passengers says spare batteries are not allowed in checked baggage, and larger lithium-powered devices need the airline’s approval.
Source: International Air Transport Association (IATA): Dangerous Goods Guidance for Passengers. Checked 26 October 2026.
In India, the Airports Authority of India’s prohibited-items list for Madurai Airport says power banks are not allowed in registered (checked) baggage. Check your own airport’s and airline’s current list before you fly.
Source: Airports Authority of India: Madurai Airport page, prohibited items list (page last updated 22 October 2026). Checked 26 October 2026.
Aviation security guidance such as the US TSA’s treats a power bank as a spare lithium battery, so it travels in your cabin bag.
Source: Transportation Security Administration (United States): What can I bring? Power banks. Checked 26 October 2026.
- Pack power banks and spare batteries in cabin bags, not checked bags.
- Check your airline’s current rules before the trip; airlines can set extra limits, including on using power banks during the flight.
Drones for photos and video
Some photographers offer drone shots. Whether a particular drone can be flown at a particular venue depends on the current rules and the location.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) publishes India’s drone rules and drone notices. When we checked on 26 October 2026, its website carried a notice that registration of non-type-certified drones was temporarily suspended until further notice.
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India: DGCA website home page, drones section and notices. Checked 26 October 2026.
- Ask your photographer how their drone and pilot meet the current rules for your venue.
- Ask who is responsible for any permission, and get the answer in writing.
Food safety for long events
A wedding buffet can stay open for hours, sometimes in warm weather. The questions in our caterer list are built around these principles.
The World Health Organization’s five keys to safer food are: keep clean, separate raw and cooked food, cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures, and use safe water and raw materials.
Source: World Health Organization: Five keys to safer food manual (2006). Checked 26 October 2026.
If a vendor dispute cannot be settled
Keep contracts, receipts and messages together. If a problem with a paid service cannot be settled directly with the vendor, a consumer complaint is one route.
The National Consumer Helpline, run by the Department of Consumer Affairs, takes complaints on 1915 (toll free, 8 AM to 8 PM), on WhatsApp at +91 8800001915, and through its portal and app.
Source: National Consumer Helpline, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India: National Consumer Helpline home page. Checked 26 October 2026.