Hyderabad: CII in association with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Govt. of India and Government of Telangana as Partner State organized the first of its kind initiative, the Geographical Indication Festival of India (GIFI), a Virtual Exhibition and Conference focusing on the theme ‘Strengthening, Promoting and Empowering GIs and its Producer Community’ on Saturday.
While inaugurating the exhibition and delivering the keynote address, Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor, Telangana said that We all need to strongly be Vocal for Local and should always prefer to purchase local products. While praising every GI product is a pride of the country, she mentioned that there is a need to include a fashion element and make the products more appealing for the younger generation.
Promoting local products will give a boost to the rural economy. She appreciated the efforts of CII in organizing a timely virtual conference and expo to strengthen the support for GI Products.
While addressing the inaugural Session, Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Industry & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT), Government of Telangana said that handlooms & handicrafts sectors are highly impacted by COVID and such efforts would help in reviving the market demand. There are 15 GIs in Telangana and there are 4-5 more products which could become GIs very soon. He also said that the young generation should bring in innovation & design elements into the products. The government of Telangana is making many efforts to increase the demand for handlooms and handicrafts products and the ‘Handloom Monday’ campaign encourages all state government employees to wear handlooms every Monday. Also, the Government of Telangana has decided to give handicrafts products/ GI products as gifts to any visiting dignitary. Also, our efforts may bring the One District One Product (ODOP) program to the forefront and help gain momentum in the State.
John Cabeca, U.S. Intellectual Property Attaché for South Asia, New Delhi discussed the flexibilities with which people have migrated from in-person to e-commerce platforms. And since GI registration adds an important layer to the authenticity of the product, it is very important to ensure that the product being sold is authentic. It is therefore very important to have a strong enforcement mechanism while protecting and promoting GI products.
Krishna Bodanapu, Chairman, CII Telangana and MD & CEO, Cyient Ltd. in his welcome address said, “GI Tag will protect the Tradition & Cultural Heritage of Indian Products to an extent. But we need to empower them with better outreach and market access for enabling the livelihoods of artisans and the people who are dependent on these traditional artworks and other products. Speaking on the occasion, Ramesh Datla, Chairman, CII National Committee on IP & Chairman, ELICO Ltd said that Out of 15 registered GIs of Telangana, CII has facilitated 12 GIs, and CII IPR cell shall continue to will work actively with the State Government towards Protection and Promotion of GI in the state of Telangana.
Dr. Chinnaraja G Naidu, Deputy Registrar of Geographical Indications, IPO, India told us that there is are 350+ registered GIs as of now. But India has a potential of tapping 5000 plus GIs which needs to be explored by the states and district administration for registration under the GI Act.
There are 106 exhibitors showcasing registered GIs on the GIFI platform for the next 30 days. CII would urge the public to visit the site and register as delegates to the visitor the expo and have a virtual tour.
More than 500+ participants attended the conference today.
