Dindigul Lock, Kandangi Saree Get GI Tag

The two iconic products face similar challenges and have been on the decline over the years

- Sangeetha Kandavel A. Shrikumar

Will granting the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to two iconic, but dying products from Tamil Nadu be able to revive them?

The products — the Dindigul lock and the Kandangi saree — were given the GI tag by the Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai on Thursday. While the application for the lock was made by the Dindigul Lock, Hardware and Steel Furniture Workers Industrial Co-operative Society Limited, the Amarar Rajeev Gandhi Handloom Weavers Co-operative Production and Sales Society Limited filed the application for the Kandangi saree.

It remains to be seen whether the GI tag will infuse fresh interest in these two products and improve their performance in the market, and thereby revive the workers dependent on these products.