Handicrafts Dept introduces OFDA from Australia to address Pashmina workers’ greviences

Srinagar, April 5: For ensuring the genuiness of the pashmina products, the Handicrafts and Handloom Department Kashmir, 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 stake holders.

Significantly, this year alone, the Department has issued 5430 labels in Pashmina craft. Besides Pashmina & Carpet Craft, the department has also started issuing GI-labels Printed with QR Code in 12 other GI Registered/Non Registered crafts viz:- Sozni, Kani, Crewal, Namdha, Chainstitch, Khatambandh, Paper Machie, Wiilow 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 has now imported Optical Fibre Diameter Analyzer (OFDA)-4000 from Australia to ease out the testing/labeling mechanism.

This is part of the efforts by the Jammu and Kashmir 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 (Optical Fibre Diameter Analyzer) 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.