Srinagar, Feb 7 (Reporter) In a major step aimed at safeguarding the genuineness of the famed Kashmir hand-knotted Carpet, a new logo under the Geographical Indication (GI) procedures has been issued by the competent authority. The Geographical Registry, Chennai, has assigned a new logo for the famed Kashmir Hand-Knotted Carpet under its Geographical Indication procedures, an official spokesman said here on Friday. GI logo is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. Director Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT), Nowshera, Srinagar, Zubair Ahmad, stated that a fresh registration certificate with a new logo has been issued by the Registrar of Geographical Indications, which is the competent authority for assigning such benchmarks. “The new logo will be given wide publicity so that exclusivity of hand-knotted Kashmir carpet is secured and buyers are satisfied with purchasing genuine hand-made Kashmiri carpets,” he added. Kashmir Crafts, which has a reputation for being amongst the very best in niche global markets, is in pursuit of securing GI registration for all categories. The authorities recently seized several unlabelled machine-made carpets being falsely marketed and sold as authentic Kashmir handmade carpets by the vendors in the valley. The action follows recent reports in local media highlighting the influx of machine-made Turkish and Iranian carpets being sold under the guise of genuine Kashmiri hand-knotted carpets. Apart from hand-knotted carpets, six other crafts have already been GI registered which include Papier Mache, Kashmir Pashmina, Kani, Sozni, Khatamband and Walnut Wood Carving...////...