HYDERABAD: "Let us work together to help the queen of textiles retain the numero uno status it has enjoyed the past 5,000 years."

This was the point the Silk Mark Organisation of India (SMOI) sought to drive home to a gathering of master weavers, traders and others connected with the silk industry on Wednesday. Actress Laya, clicked a computer mouse to make the Silk Mark symbol appear on two giant screens at the Grand Ballroom of the Taj Krishna. She also released the tamper-proof holograms.

The SMOI Chairman, H. Basker, said Silk Mark was launched first in Bangalore on June 17, 2004. It was followed by launches in Chennai, Mumbai and a half-dozen silk clusters -- Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu and Dharmavaram, Hindupur and Pochampalli in Andhra Pradesh. The CEO, SMOI, Vandana Kumar said the response to the scheme, sponsored by the Central Silk Board was encouraging. "It has been just over a year since it was launched and we have 220 manufacturers registered with us, using Silk Marks," she said, adding that they were looking at establishing brand equity through the marks, which were numbered, coded and controlled.

First the applicants go through a screening and certification process, after which they are registered with SMOI and become eligible to use the tamper-proof holograms, which come for Rs. 2 each. A training component is built in, she said. A grievance redressal mechanism was in place and the nine nodal centres would be responsible for seeing that the holograms were not misused. The Commissioners, C.S. Ramalakshmi (Sericulture) and T. Satyanarayana Rao (Handlooms), were present. Those interested in details of Silk Mark registration may contact 040-23554447.

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