Hologram industry lags despite growth in counterfeit trade

Kailash Rajwadkar

Mumbai, June 6: DESPITE the growing menace of counterfeit products, holograms which are used world-over to tackle and overcome this problem are sparingly used in India. The domestic hologram industry, with around 15 manufacturers, accounts for a total turnover of just Rs 50 crore, which is minuscule considering the counterfeit products available on a large scale.

Unlike in India, the use of holograms in developed countries like US and Europe is very high, despite strong legal repercussions for the manufacturers of counterfeit products. The cost of holograms works out to Rs 0.03 paise per unit to Rs 2.00 per unit, which is commercially feasible to arrest the counterfeit threat.

However, the usage of holograms in India has not been popular and even the literate consumer is unaware about the technology and its importance. This is one of the reasons which prevent manufacturers from opting for holograms. Besides, there have been a few occasions when a hologram itself was duplicated.

A hologram is an umbrella name for a variety of optical devices enabling the customer to have a more secure supply line. In India, 95 per cent of the hologram market is stickers, while it is hot-stamping for share certificates and aluminium foils for pharma products. A hologram is an optical picture made with the use of lasers and the whole process of making it is inkless. It can be processed and customised according to the requirement on various substances like paper, plastic and aluminium foil among others. In India, the use of holograms got a big boost in 1992-93, when they were used on the election identity cards, when Mr TN Seshan was the chief election commissioner. However, since then, there was no initiative from the government except for floating a tender by the Bureau of Indian Standards in 1999 for the usage of hologram, which has till date not reached its logical conclusion.

However, the hologram has imprinted its importance in more than one area. The state government of Tamil Nadu was able to increase its revenue by 15 per cent last year by applying integrated label hologram on its receipts. The state of Uttar Pradesh too has initiated the implementation for its excise department in January this year.

Retd IPS, Mr JF Ribeiro, who was earlier roped in by the music industry and later by the pharma industry to launch an offensive on counterfeit products, says that the music industry has agreed to the usage of holograms and talks with a few hologram manufacturers are currently on. However, some of the holograms can easily be duplicated. Besides, consumers are not at all aware of holograms and need to be educated, he added.

If holograms can be made water-tight, then no one can duplicate it. This, coupled with consumer awareness, will make holograms a very good remedy to fight counterfeit products, Mr Ribeiro said.

The problems of counterfeits is not confined to India alone. It is estimated that counterfeits account for business worth Rs 20,000 crore (about five-seven per cent of the total world trade). In India, counterfeiting appears to be more rampant in the north Indian states of Delhi, Punjab, Harayana and Uttar Pradesh.

In India, counterfeiting has assumed large proportions and has hit the brand value of prominent companies. In pharma formulations, counterfeiting accounts for a whopping Rs 1,500 crore out of the total market size of Rs 17,000 crore. The large proportions are attributed to the expanded grey market which escape upon the high sales tax and excise duties.