SRINAGAR- A buyer-seller meet was Friday organized by the National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) Ltd in collaboration with Department of Handicrafts & Handloom (DHH) Kashmir at Kashmir Haat Srinagar.
The event witnessed the participation of Exporters, Unit Holders, Members of Cooperative Societies besides various manufacturers among whom Aditya Birla Group, Jayshree Textiles and Balaji Mills are prominent. The representatives of KCCI, PEMA, MEERAS, KPO, KCC also participated in the event. Artisans and unit holders also displayed handicraft and handloom products of national and international repute during the event.
Speaking at the event, the Director Handicrafts and Handloom Kashmir, Mahmood Ahmad Shah said that such programs boost the morale of the artists and also helps the seller to plan his products better. Such events will provide buyers and sellers from Kashmir region a platform to build business relations and showcase products.
He further said that the Department has been facilitating the promotion of GI to help recognize and promote age-old crafts.
Pertinently, Kani Shawl, Pashmina, Sozni, Paper-Machie, Walnut Wood Carving, Khatamband, and Hand Knotted Carpets crafts from Kashmir have already been GI certified whereas five more crafts viz., Kashmir Namda, Wagguv, Shikara, Gabba and Kashmir Willow Bat are in the final process of getting the GI registration.
The department in the last year alone has issued 6500 and 4000 labels in Pashmina and Carpets, respectively. The QR based labelling of all the GI certified crafts shall be achieved in a month’s period besides the department is also in process of issuing the hologram labelling of non GI crafts.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the Director stressed the need of creating a Raw Material Bank in Kashmir to facilitate easy procurement which can aide the artisans and weavers. The department has registered 2500 Cooperatives alone in the last year which have been provided a financial assistance of 15 Crore rupees.
Certificates were also distributed among the 22 authorized GI carpet exporters by the Director Handicrafts & Handloom Kashmir. The department is presently providing an incentive of 10% of the total volume of Handicraft/Handloom export products with maximum reimbursement up to Rs. 5 Crore.
Shah also reiterated that the process shall also continue and more exporters shall be brought under the ambit in a continuous process. The main aim of GI promotion is to enable the department to differentiate the machine made products and the handmade products which otherwise side-line the genuine artisans and weavers. The department shall continue to take stern action against the dealers and exporters who deceive the buyers by selling machine made products in name of handmade.
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