Andhra?s Uppada Jamdani saris get GI status

Believed to be a more than 300 years old handicraft, Uppada Jamdani saris from Andhra Pradesh is the latest product to get Geographical Indications (GI) certification. The registration allows approximately 1,500 weavers from Kothapalli Mandal of the East Godhavari district in Andhra Pradesh exclusive rights for production and marketing of products by the said name. This takes total products registered under GI to 106.

The certification is a associated of a product with a particular region and cannot be used by any other region for a similar product. For example Darjeeeling tea and champagne. This protects products against forfeiting.

According to sources, the Chennai-based GI registry of India recently granted GI registration to the Uppada Handloom Weavers Co-operative Production and Sales Society Limited, and two other weavers associations.

The GI registration covers saris, churidars, sets, scarfs and stoles woven in the Uppada style of weaving. The speciality of this style of weaving is that it is purely manual and no mechanical devices are used. The Uppada Jamdani designs so woven blend into the cloth in such a way that the design is distinct, clear and uniformly visible on both sides of the cloth.

“Only 500 weaver families are engaged in the business of producing these exclusive designs,” said GK Muthukumaar, a senior associate with a Chennai-based law firm Anand And Anand, which filed for the GI registration. Muthukumaar said these products were originally made for the royal households and command huge premium in the market.

At present, the annual turnover of the weaving business is approximately Rs 6 crore. “The demands for these exclusive handicraft products have been rising. The GI registration would provide the much-needed uniqueness and legal backing towards increasing its market,” he said.

As per the GI Act, a person caught infringing a registered GI is liable for imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years, apart from a fine that may range between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2 lakh.

GI registration is given to products with a reputation that can be attributed to its place of origin or the area where it is manufactured for preserving its identity and uniqueness, and to provide protection against infringement.

Uppada Jamdani saris would be in the league of products such as Darjeeling tea, Kullu shawl, Lucknow chikan craft, Kancheepuram silk, Kollhapuri chappal, Mysore sandalwood soap, Poddar diamond, Alleppey green cardamom, Tanjavur paintings, Thanjavur art plate and others which had been granted GI registration since 2004 in the country.

Official data indicates that since the passage of Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, which came into effect in September 2003, 106 products belonging to agricultural, natural, manufactured or industrial, handicrafts and food categories have been granted GI registration in India for period of 10 years.

At present, 58 more applications for GI registration is being examined and processed by GI Registry of India.

Only Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and a few north eastern states account for a bulk of applications for GI registration. The products range from agricultural and horticultural commodities, handicrafts including a wide variety of textile items, toys, furniture, food stuffs and industrial or manufactured goods.