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SRINAGAR: There are more than 14000 GI tagged Pashmina shawls in Kashmir.
Thanks to the incentive scheme, more and more shawl weavers and dealers are coming forward to get a GI tag on their products.
“We’ve launched the label. They are from Delhi. We have them in bulk now. GI is linked to an export incentive of 10 percent. People are eager to take advantage of this incentive,” Mehmood Ahmad Shah, Director of Handicrafts and Handlooms, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Official figures reveal that 14000 Pashmina shawls and 6500 carpets have been GI tagged so far.
“People would prefer to tag GI because it is linked to incentives. We had pushed for the incentives. It was later decided that there would be an incentive of 10 per cent on the invoice value so that more and more people could switch to GI,” said Parvez Bhat, media secretary of the Kashmir Pashmina Foundation.
A Secure Combination Authentication Label (SFAL) contains a unique eight-digit Alpha Numeric Code and invisible nano-tangent particles that can only be seen by infrared light.
Under the nanotechnology process, there are visible and hidden marks in the SFAL that protect the authenticity and purity of the handmade shawls. The prominent marks, which could be read by the naked eye, contain an eight digit Alpha Numeric Code which is unique and random and cannot be predicted.
The hidden marks include the nano-tangent particles that are randomly hidden in the SFAL. These particles produce a green reflection when exposed to infrared light. Also there are some hidden things – like 100 percent handmade and GI registered – in the label that come into contact with ultraviolet light.
The authorized user needs to fulfill four parameters for ensuring the purity and authenticity of Pashmina. The product should be 100 Pashmina. It should be up to 16 microns. It should be handspun fiber. It should be hand woven on traditional looms. When the product meets all four parameters during testing, it is then marked SFAL. The unique eight digit Alpha Numeric Code is fed into our website and can be checked by any user or buyer anywhere in the world to find the authenticity and details of the registered user who has tested it.
“We don’t need to bid for our product. Everything is recorded on the label. Once the buyer searches for the unique number on the web, everything is revealed automatically. Even microns and yard-spinning details flash. It puts an end to the fakes,” Bhat said.