Indian handicraft may be branded to ward off Chinese copy cats

The Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) in the Textiles Ministry has already given a go-head to the Exports Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) to work on the proposal.
"We gave the idea to the ministry and the Development Commissioner has asked us to work on it," EPCH Chairman R K Malhotra said here today.

He said Chinese manufacturers reproduces the Indian handicraft products and exports it back to India and global market.

"We would be branding the products," he said adding, that a study is underway.
Chinese manufacturers also send their machine-made craft items to the global market at a lesser price pushing the Indian exporters to disadvantage, he said.

Indian handicraft exports were USD 1.83 billion (around Rs 8,000 crore) in 2009-10 and is targeting USD 2.2 billion (around Rs 9,700 crore) in this fiscal. The sector employs about 10 lakh people.