Over 14000 Pashmina shawls GI tagged; J&K govt announces 10% export incentive scheme

SRINAGAR: More than 14000 Pashmina shawls have been GI-tagged in Kashmir.

Thanks to the incentive scheme, more and more shawl weavers and dealers are coming forward to get their products GI-tagged.

“We have launched the label. They are coming from Delhi. We are getting them in bulk now. GI is linked to a 10 percent export incentive. People are eager to avail 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 GI tagging because it is linked to incentives. We had pushed for the incentives. It was later decided that there will be a 10 percent incentive on the invoice value so that more and more people could switch to GI,” said Parvez Bhat, media secretary of Kashmir Pashmina Organisation.

Secure Fusion Authentication Label (SFAL) contains a unique eight-digit Alpha Numerical Code and invisible nano-tangent particles that can be seen only by infrared light.

Under the nanotechnology process, there are overt and covert marks in the SFAL which protect the authenticity and purity of the handmade shawls. The overt marks, which could be read by the naked eye, include eight digit Alpha Numerical Code which is unique and haphazard that cannot be predicted.

The covert marks include the nano-tangent particles which are haphazardly hidden in the SFAL. These particles produce green reflection when they are exposed to Infrared light. Plus there are certain hidden things — like 100 percent handmade and GI registered – in the label which get exposed to 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 have been hand woven on traditional looms. When the product meets all four parameters during tests, it is then marked with SFAL.  The eight-digit unique Alpha Numerical Code is fed to our website and any user or buyer can check it anywhere in the world to find the authenticity and the details of the registered user who has got it tested.

“We do not need to pitch 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 spin details are flashed. It puts an end to the fakes,” said Bhat.