In a bid to popularise India’s GI tagged products and works of artisans, the government is aiming to market the products in international markets. The initiative announced by Suresh Prabhu, minister of commerce & industries and civil aviation, on Wednesday, promises to provide a helping hand to artisans.
Launching the logo for India’s GI products, Prabhu said that the logo and tagline were chosen to depict the labour and creativity of artisans from different parts of India. “GI tag will give artisans and the place of origin their rightful share in intellectual property,” said Prabhu.
He said that villages in five districts have already been selected to provide financial aids to artisans and promote production of GI tagged products in these areas. So far, government has either spent a lot to protect artisans like weavers and sculptors but has been unable to draw any benefit out of the spends.
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management will be central to the promotional activities to be carried out for GI tagged products. The new tagline for promotion, selected from a competition by CIPAM, is: ‘Invaluable treasure of Incredible India'.
“We are working with the ministry of civil aviation and railways to include the display for GI tagged products. Of course, state governments too will have a large say over this,” said Remesh Abhishek, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion.
The government is hopeful that the initiatives and the new identifiers like a logo and tagline for the GI products will help in their outreach in global markets and direct international attention on India's artisans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already advised industries to take advantage of his ‘Make in India' promotion at international forums.