Man versus machine: Handloom wins over powerloom

CHENNAI: In a battle of man and machine, the former has won, for now.
The Centre has resisted orchestrated attempts by the powerloom lobby to alter the definition of handloom products and said that only genuinely hand-made materials be given the handloom tag and protection.
For nearly three decades, the uniqueness of manual skills involved in making handloom items was safeguarded by the Handloom (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act, 1985.The Act says the term handloom means any loom other than powerloom.
Powerloom unit owners had been lobbying hard for redefining the term handloom because they were hurt by the specific exclusion and threatened by Sections 9 and 10 of the Act. These clauses provided for search and seizure of powerloom machineries and materials if they masquerade as handloom products or ape recognised handloom specialities. As per the Act, violators could be jailed upto six months or fined, or both, besides an additional fine of up to 500 per loom per day during the period of contravention.
Under pressure, the Centre had formed an advisory committee and a sub-committee to look into the amendment. Powerloom owners wanted the amendment to recognise products manufactured or produced by powerlooms with some manual interference as 'handloom'.
Now, the Centre has accepted the advisory committee's recommendation that the fine definition need not be changed, and that only genuinely hand-made materials be given the handloom tag and protection.
Hailing the policy decision, Intellectual Property Rights Attorneys' Association president P Sanjai Gandhi told TOI, "All the good work of manufacturers who have invested their lifetime for manufacturing handlooms with their manual skills will not go to waste now."
Gandhi, who has to his credit the maximum number of Geographical Indication registrations, said implementation of the GI benefits would also be made easy now.