OFDA to end grievance of Pashmina stakeholders

SRINAGAR, April 05: In order to ensure the genuiness of the pashmina products, the Handloom and Handicrafts (H&H) Department during the last few years has issued more than 16000 Pashmina labels and the numbers are expected to increase enormously in the coming months owing to increase in exports and demand from the stakeholders due to wide publicity and awareness generated by the Department.

 This year alone the department has issued 5430 labels in Pashmina craft. 

Besides Pashmina & Carpet Craft, the  H&H department has also started issuing GI-labels Printed with QR Code in 12 other GI Registered/Non Registered crafts including Sozni, Kani, Crewal, Namdha, Chainstitch, Khatambandh, Paper Machie, Willows Wicker, Walnut wood, Copperware, Silverware & Filigiri, thereby putting an enormous load on the PTQCC lab. 

Taking cognizance of the same, the department of Handicrafts & Handloom Kashmir on warfooting basis has imported  Optical Fibre Diameter Analyzer (OFDA)-4000 from Australia to ease out the testing/labeling mechanism. 

This is part of the serious effort by the J&K Government to improve buyer confidence and adequately promote handmade works.

The initiative aimed at fair trade practice is taking place at a time when the handicraft sector is exhibiting a strong revival with exports in the last nine months crossing Rs 729 crores, for the first time since 2019.

 In view of the increasing demand from the stakeholders for increasing the labeling and testing capacity, the department has imported OFDA-4000  to replace the existing Projection Microscope which was used for performing of Micron analysis test  by IS-744 & IWTO-8-2011 methods. 

OFDA-4000 is an automated microscope specifically designed to measure either individual fibres  or  fibre snippets spread over a glass slide at a rate of 2000 measurements per minute automatically without any human involvement, thereby increases the testing capacity of the lab by multiple folds.  

OFDA is designed to provide a rapid, precise and accurate measurement of the mean fibre diameter and fibre diameter distribution of wool samples.

 By bringing OFDA-4000 in the lab, the long pending demand of the Stake holders has been fulfilled and they can now get their products tested in a swift manner. The equipment is expected to help the stake holders of Pashmina Craft very significantly.