India is home to cultures and innovations, each of which has its own significance. Be it the famous Kangra Paintings or Kashmir Pashmina, the government has undertaken several measures to protect and preserve the rich culture and collective intellectual heritage of the country.
To supplement the income of our rural farmers, weavers, artisans and craftsmen, TRIFED is working to get a GI tag for 177 potential tribal products. The GI initiative taken up by TRIFED aims to protect and revive the traditional mastery of Indian tribal folks.
Whether it’s agricultural, natural or manufactured goods, TRIFED is working extensively towards realizing the importance of the nation’s culture and contributing to the preservation of invaluable treasures of Incredible India.
GI or Geographical Indication
A Geographical Indication or GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or manufactured product originating from a definite geographical territory. It conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin in a defined geographical locality, region or country.
TRIFED’s GI intervention: Impacting the lives of common people
This intervention helps in safeguarding the interests of the original producers. It also aids in ensuring that the producer avails optimum cost for their premium goods even in the highly competitive market scenario.
Further, GI Tags play a big role in providing recognition to indigenous products both in India and the global market. In addition, it shall revive the diminishing art and craft from a tribal specific geographical location.
It is worth noting that currently, TRIFED markets 56 GI tagged products, owing to their tribal origin/involvement, from over 300 registered Indian GIs. This has been achieved through a well-established network of 141 Tribes India retail outlets and various E-Commerce platforms. It has also facilitated authorized user-ship for 94 artisans and is aiming to increase the authorized user base to 500.
Empowering Tribal Artisans
To promote and market GIs of tribal origin, TRIFED has partnered with PMO. The move will aid in the empowerment of tribal artisans. To safeguard the interest of GI products in their region, GI Mahotsav has also been organized in association with LBSNAA, Ministry of Culture & Ministry of Textiles for sensitization of trainee officers that will further ensure administrative level support and formulation of policies.
To provide training and capacity building to tribal artisans, TRIFED and NABARD have also joined hands. This will provide acceleration and strength to the GI initiative by sharing resources available at their disposal.
To promote the rich tribal culture and its heritage on a global platform, TRIFED is also working in association with the Ministry of External Affairs. It may be noted that Atmanirbhar corners have been set up at Indian Consulates in Ottawa, Kuwait, Bangkok & Croatia for promotion and marketing of tribal GI along with a variety of exotic tribal products.
Fuelling the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, various endeavours are being laid to recognize the craftsmanship of the tribal artisans and provide a fillip to their livelihoods.
Comment here