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Our Bureau

Kolkata, July 28 The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is in favour of registering Baluchari, a silk saree produced in West Bengal, for Geographical Indications (GI) protection.

GI is an instrument of Intellectual Property Right protection that identifies a manufacturing good, handicrafts or an agricultural product as originating from a particular place, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of such products are essentially attributable to its geographical origin.

Currently only one item from West Bengal, Darjeeling tea, is registered for GI protection. Apart from Baluchari saree, IIFT has also identified Murshidabad silk, Phulia Tant, Bishnupur Terracotta, Krishnanagar clay toys as well as different varieties of mango, rice and betel leaf for getting the GI label, said Mr K. Rangarajan, Head, Kolkata Centre of IIFT, at a seminar jointly organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Nearly 10,000 artisans of West Bengal are currently dependent on manufacturing of Baluchari sarees and Rs 1.25 crore of revenue are generated from this profession, he added.

Mr Sanjay Budhia, President of ICC, said, “An effective protection of GI is of considerable importance for India, which is richly endowed with natural and agricultural products.” The use of the GI is however limited due to lack of awareness about the protection, he added. Currently, only 82 items from India are registered for GI protection in comparison with 5,000 items globally.

Mr G.D. Gautama, Principal Secretary, Department of Micro, Small-Scale Enterprises and Textiles, West Bengal, said crafts and other products from West Bengal lacked branding and GI could serve as a quality assurance yardstick in attracting global demand.

More Stories on : IPR | Textiles | West Bengal

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Baluchari saree may register for GI protection

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