On Friday, Kashmir Carpets with GI Tag shipped to Germany. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has finally launched a Geographical Indication (GI) registry for the famous Kashmiri carpet, complete with a QR code and information on the artisans and materials used. On Friday, the first-ever consignment of GI-tagged carpets was shipped from New Delhi to Germany.
The Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) hosted a seminar in New Delhi in association with the Jammu and Kashmir Directorate of Handicrafts & Handloom to generate awareness about the GI registration of authentic Kashmir carpets.
“By certifying the genuineness of hand-knotted carpets with relevant information of the manufacturer, weaver, district, raw material, and so on, the QR code attached to the GI tag will help revive the sheen and glory of the Kashmiri carpet industry,” said Mehmood Ahmad Shah, Director, Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir.
He believes that this innovation will help to preserve the quality of hand-knotted carpets. “It would eventually promote exports since they would be treated on par with Iranian and Turkish hand-knotted carpets in terms of quality and pricing,” Mr. Shah added.
The effort, according to CEPC Chairman Umar Hameed, would revolutionize and maintain the carpet industry’s future. “The QR code label can’t be copied or manipulated in any way.” It would deter the creation of counterfeit carpets, which endangers the livelihoods of weavers and the industry as a whole,” he said.
GI tag was given in 2016
The Geographical Indication Registry of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade issued Kashmiri carpets a GI tag in June 2016, but the registered carpets were certified this year.
Weaver Abdul Majid Sofi believes that stringent labeling and certificates will protect the interests of weavers.
Meanwhile, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Ranjan Prakash Thakur sent off the first GI-tagged shipment of Ferozson Exports Pvt. Ltd., Srinagar, for Germany on Friday in New Delhi. “This is the first step in authenticating a Kashmir carpet that has been hand-knotted.” Mr. Thakur stated that “the journey would create a new milestone in the history of hand-knotted Kashmir carpets.”
Jammu and Kashmir carpets have been exported to more than 20 nations. Carpets worth 115 crores were exported to Germany in 2020-21. The President of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Sheikh Ashiq Ahmad, requested the government to “provide every help to Kashmir carpet manufacturers and exporters.”