There’s a need to introduce intellectual property (IP) protection for handloom weavers of India, textiles minister Smriti Irani opined at a handloom conference recently held in New Delhi. She also said that handloom is the country’s legacy and its potential needs to be positioned and acknowledged not only domestically, but also globally.

At the Creating Handloom 2.0 conference ‘Realising the potential of the Indian Handloom Industry’ organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Irani emphasised that every weaver has their unique designs and craftsmanship which needs to be protected and acknowledged. It is important to ensure a framework where intellectual protection rights can be introduced and ensured for handloom weavers.

“Handloom is not an area of select few. When the industry comes together with the weaver, an expeditious journey can take place,” Irani said.

She cited the example of domestic retail brand Biba that procured 2 lakh metres of handloom cloth in August and introduced two new collections in November. She also emphasised in the need for product development in the sector and informed that under ‘India handloom brand’ launched by the Prime Minister, 60 natural dyes and chemical free dyes have been registered so far.

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