Famous Banaras beads to get GI certification soon

The Move has the potential to restore the dying trade and support thousands of artisans

The age-old craft of glass bead making is set to get a fillip as the Geographical Indication Registry of India has decided to issue a GI certification to restore the dying trade, a move that will support thousands of artisans.

"The application for granting GI registration has been accepted and a gazette notification has also been issued... the certificate will be issued after the mandatory waiting period," Assistant Registrar of Trademarks and Geographical Registration C G Naidu told PTI today.

President of Banaras Beads Association Ashok Gupta said, "We had been trying for it for the last three years. The efforts of the association and the Export Promotion Commissioner, Department of Small Scale Industries will soon bear fruits."

Highlighting the uniqueness of the handicraft, he said a lot of evolution, innovation and expertise has gone into developing 50,000 varieties of glass beads, popularly known as 'kaanch ki moti'.

Gupta's father Kanhaiya Lal had learnt the basics of making glass beads at the Banaras Hindu University way back in 1938 from a Czech couple, who were invited by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya.