Taking the GI of Kashmir Handicrafts to the next level, the Director Handicrafts & Handloom Kashmir today held a detailed discussion with the authorities of Intellectual Property India; Patents, Designs, Trademarks, Geographical Indications, Chennai to speed up the process of GI registration of five crafts viz., Kashmir Namda, Wagguv, Shikara, Gabba and Kashmir Willow Bat.
The dossier for registration of these crafts has already been submitted to the Intellectual Property India, Chennai which is the apex level organization for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
The Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks & GI and Examiner of Trade Marks & GI who were representing Intellectual Property India, Chennai assured that the GI shall be conferred to these five crafts very soon.
Director H&H also led the discussion regarding submission of three more dossiers for Copperware, Willow Wicker and Chain Stitch crafts of the valley which are already under consideration of the department for GI registration.
Geographical indication tagging has acquired a greater significance ever since the focus has shifted towards Vocal for Local. The Handicrafts and Handloom Department has been facilitating the promotion of GI tagged products symbolizing empowerment of the artisans.
These initiatives are aimed to help recognize and promote age-old crafts and methods that are otherwise in danger of being lost due to urbanization and industrialization. Pertinently, Kani Shawl, Pashmina, Sozni, Paper-Machie, Walnut Wood Carving, Khatamband, and Hand Knotted Carpets crafts from Kashmir have already been GI certified.
The testing and labelling of Pashmina has ramped up from last year and a half besides the department has also introduced the testing and labelling of Hand Knotted Carpets; a significant number of artisans, manufacturers and exporters are approaching the department for testing and labelling of the GI certified products.
Moreover, the visitors have also shown much interest in purchasing exclusive GI certified crafts post these efforts of promoting Geographical Indication throughout the country and away.
The department is presently in the final stage of purchasing the Optical-based Fibre Diameter Analyser (OFDA) for accurate measurement of diameter, length, curvature (crimp), mean and distribution of different fibre types with thousands of fibre measurements per minute to speed up the testing process.
The Quick Response (QR) based labelling of the GI crafts is also nearing the adaptation in the certified crafts.