NEW DELHI, Jan 6: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said that the country must take steps to protect the intellectual property of weavers, artisans and designers.

After inaugurating an India Expo Centre and Mart (IECM) in Greater Noida, Dr Singh expressed: “We must evolve strategies to guard against piracy. Both the government and business should work together to protect the intellectual property of our weavers, our artisans and our designers in the way that the developed world protects its products.”

The prime minister was of the view that with the emergence of a new high-end market for Indian handlooms and handicrafts, the country faced “a growing threat from those who seek to imitate our designs and methods”.

New opportunities, he pointed out, were opening up globally for Indian products, especially after the withering away of the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA).

“We are on the threshold of a new era. A new renewal, afforded by the withering away of the MFA, beckons to our textile sector,” Mr Singh said, adding that major markets such as the US and the European Union were increasingly opening to Indian products.

The prime minister said that rigid domestic laws, complex rules, regulations and excessive controls had inhibited the growth of an internationally competitive textile industry in India.

“After independence, despite our comparative advantage in the textiles sector, we missed the opportunity afforded by growing global demand... We were overtaken in the world market by other textile exporting economies of Asia,” he maintained, adding that India can retrieve lost ground by putting in place sensible policies.

He said the Indian textile industry was capable of regaining its glorious position as one of the world’s most creative and competitive industries. “In this age of environment sensitivity and mass manufacture, a high premium is being placed on handicraft products.

“The wares produced by our artisans are seen as unique, exclusive and environment-friendly. This is an edge that we must actively utilize,” Mr Singh said, continuing that efforts should be made to provide efficient marketing set-up, trade infrastructure, brand-building and quality assurance for Indian products.—APP