Practice Test 24

India's handicrafts and handloom sector is a priceless repository of artistic tradition, skilled craftsmanship, and cultural identity that encompasses thousands of distinct craft forms practised by millions of artisans and weavers across every state and region of the country, representing an unbroken thread of creativity and skill transmission spanning many centuries. The sector is the second largest provider of rural employment after agriculture, sustaining the livelihoods of approximately seventy lakh handloom weavers and over fifty lakh craft artisans, the majority of whom belong to socially and economically marginalised communities including scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, and religious minorities who have inherited their craft skills as a birthright and livelihood from preceding generations within their communities. Indian handloom fabrics, recognised globally for the sophistication of their weave structures, the richness of their natural dye traditions, and the refinement of their design vocabularies, encompass such iconic regional specialities as Banarasi silk from Varanasi, Kanjeevaram silk from Tamil Nadu, Chanderi and Maheshwari cotton from Madhya Pradesh, Ikat textiles from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat, Jamdani muslin from West Bengal, Manipuri phanek and mekhela chador, Kashmiri pashmina shawls, and Pochampally silk, each the product of a distinct weaving tradition developed and refined over generations in its specific place of origin. The Geographical Indication registration system, administered under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999, has proved to be a powerful tool for protecting the distinctive identity and commercial value of India's traditional crafts and textiles, preventing the misappropriation of famous product names by manufacturers who do not meet the geographic and quality criteria associated with the genuine article. Products with GI tags include not only textiles and handicrafts but also agricultural products such as Darjeeling tea, Alphonso mango, Coorg Arabica coffee, and Nagpur orange, handloom products such as Kanchipuram silk saree, Phulkari, and Banaras Brocade, as well as craft items such as Bidriware, Kondapalli toys, and Kutch embroidery. The National Handloom Development Programme, the Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme, and the Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme provide financial assistance for modernisation of looms, raw material procurement, skill development, product design improvement, and social security for weavers and their families. The Craftmark certification introduced by the All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association provides a quality assurance label for genuine handmade Indian crafts, helping consumers distinguish authentic handcraft products from machine-made imitations. The e-commerce revolution has created new market opportunities for artisans, with platforms including Government e-Marketplace, Amazon Karigar, and Flipkart Samarth enabling artisans to sell directly to consumers across India and internationally.