Why in News ?

Care 4 Chendamangalam (C4C) initiative is supporting the 2018 Kerala flood-affected weavers the Chendamangalam Saree In Kerala. GI-tagged Chendamangalam sari is recognisable.

Care for Chendamangalam

• Aims in order to raise funds for the distressed weavers.
• C4C has two objectives
  • To revive the cluster that have adopted
  • To train the next generation.
• C4C started interactions with the society of woman weavers in January 2019 and hopes to help them reap benefits by 2021 with mission statement is to Uplift, Upscale, Uphold.
• Conducting various exhibitions recovery for the weavers.

About Chendamangalam Sari

• GI-tagged Chendamangalam sari is recognisable by its puliyilakara border, a thin black line that runs abreast with the sari’s edge.
• With its extra-weft chuttikara and stripes and checks of varying width.
• The saris made from the fine-count cotton yarn of 120s, 100s and 80s take between two to four days of painstaking labour, depending on the design vocabulary.

What is Geographical Indication or GI

• Sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin.
• Possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
  • It provides legal protection to Indian Geographical Indications thus preventing unauthorized use of the registered GIs by others.
• Geographical Indications are part of the intellectual property rights that comes under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
• It comes under Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999.
  • Registration of GIs began in the financial year 2004-05 after the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 came into effect from September 2003.
• Geographical indications are typically used for
  • Agricultural products
  • Foodstuffs
  • Wine and spirit drinks
  • Handicrafts
  • Industrial products.
• Geographical Indications Registry has a total of 361 GIs registered in India as of September 2019.
  • So far 65 Handloom products and 6 product logos are registered under GI Act.
  • Karnataka has the highest number of GI-tagged products.
  • Darjeeling tea became the first GI tagged product in India, in 2004–2005.

Source : The Hindu

Topic

Prelims : About Chendamangalam Sari, Geographical Indication

GS I : Aspects of Art Forms, Indian Heritage and Culture

GS III : Issues relating to intellectual property rights

Current Affairs Compilation : 21 September 2020