Ahmedabad: The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad
continues to strengthen its efforts towards protecting traditional crafts and
promoting artisan livelihoods through Geographical Indication (GI) facilitation
and intellectual property awareness initiatives. As part of these efforts, EDII hosted a two-day Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) outreach
programme titled IP Yatra under the MSME Intellectual Property Facilitation
Centre (MSME IPFC) scheme supported by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises, Government of India during March 13-14, 2026. The event, organized
in association with the IP Promotion Outreach Foundation (IPPO), brought
together more than 500 stakeholders from across India, including MSMEs,
startups, innovators, artisans, academicians and industry representatives.
The event was
inaugurated by Smt. G. Latha, IAS, Commissioner, Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation
Institute - Tamil Nadu (EDII-TN), along with Jatin Trivedi, Managing Partner, Y. J. Trivedi & Co. and Rajesh Kumar, Assistant
Director, MSME Development & Facilitation Office (DFO), Ahmedabad.
In her keynote address, Smt. G. Latha, IAS, Commissioner, Entrepreneurship
Development and Innovation Institute – Tamil Nadu (EDII-TN), citing an example
of ‘neem’ and highlighting a global patent dispute, said, “In 1995, a US-based
company patented neem, although the usage of
neem as an antiseptic, dates back to thousands of years, in India. Yet,
since we did not have the awareness towards protecting our knowledge, somebody
else took the advantage. Waking up to the significance of patents, India fought
the case for almost ten years before the patent was revoked. Hence, to
safeguard our knowledge and legacy, patenting is important.”
A key
highlight of the event was Geographical Indication (GI) Regional
Meet. On this occasion, Dr.
Unnat
Pandit, Controller General of Patents, Designs &
Trade Marks (CGPDTM), DPIIT, Government of India, awarded the GI
Certificate for ‘Surat Cut (Diamond)’ to Jagdishbhai Khunt, President of
the Surat Diamond
Association, along with other association members. The Surat Diamond
industry plays a crucial role in the global diamond market and is known to
produce around 90% of India’s polished diamonds,
marking a significant milestone in recognizing the region’s craftsmanship and
heritage under the GI framework.
Dr. Pandit also awarded GI Authorized User Certificates to
artisans associated with traditional crafts. A total of 57 authorized users of
Tangaliya Shawl represented by Lavjibhai Parmar and 34 authorized users of Mata
ni Pachhedi represented by Bhanubhai Chitara, were acknowledged for their
contributions in preserving and promoting these unique traditional crafts. In
his address, Dr. Pandit said, “India is home to a rich repository of knowledge,
based on years of practice in multiple fields. It is very important to promote
and protect the ideas and the processes involved, at the right time. GI
facilitation is highly helpful in promoting the social and economic wellbeing
of our producers & artisans. I am
happy that we are actively supporting them is getting their products GI tagged
so that they could get noticed better.”
EDII has been actively supporting GI
registration for traditional crafts and products. So far, the Institute has
facilitated GI tags for five crafts
– Gujarat Suf Embroidery, Ahmedabad Sodagari Block Print, Bharuch Sujani
Weaving, Surat Sadeli Craft and Surat Cut (Diamond). In addition, the Institute
has initiated GI tagging for 15 crafts
and agricultural products from Gujarat under MSME IPFC, which are currently
in advanced stages of processing.
To further strengthen support for artisans and
producer groups, EDII has also established a NABARD-supported Regional
Geographical Indication (GI) Facilitation Centre at its campus. The Centre is
first-of-its-kind in Gujarat and has been established to support artisans,
producer groups and entrepreneurs across the state. The centre has generated
cumulative sales of more than Rs. 3 Lakh in the last six months, enabling
artisans to access better market opportunities.
Commenting on
the subject of patenting and GI tagging, Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General,
EDII, said, “Filing patents plays a crucial role in the journey of protecting
our rich knowledge and tradition. Ideation must lead to innovation and
innovation must lead to commercialization for ideas to impact economic and
social well-being. Geographical Indications (GI) are an important tool for
protecting products.”
The IP Yatra
also featured expert-led sessions aimed at enhancing awareness and
understanding about Intellectual Property Rights among entrepreneurs and
innovators. The sessions were delivered by Nilesh
Pandit, Lead (IPR – Patents), Tata Consultancy Services and Neha Verma, General Counsel, Puniska Group, who shared insights on patent
strategy, IP protection, Brand to Asset and the importance of leveraging
intellectual property for business growth.