In a major fillip to export of world-famous hand-knotted carpets from Kashmir, the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration (NABL), the sole authority to grant accreditation of all kinds of testing in the country, has renewed accreditation of Carpet Testing Lab in the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT), here.

IICT Testing Lab, the first accredited textile lab in J&K, has fulfilled all requisite formalities for renewal in line with the Quality Management System as per NABL guidelines, based on the recommendations of the nominated experts.

Sharing details, Director IICT, Zubair Ahmad said the accreditation has given credence to the testing facility, including GI tagging and labelling of Kashmir hand-knotted carpets through the Cloud-based QR Code Mechanism. “Accreditation has been renewed vide No.12654 after NABL experts completed the technical audit and on-site surveillance of the testing laboratory on 9th-10th November, last year,” he stated.

Since its inception in 2022, the IICT lab has so far tested and certified around 16,000 carpets, boosting their export sales in the overseas markets. “We urge all business associates of carpet sector to approach our lab for GI testing and labelling, which shall boost sales and build trust amongst the buyers, amidst stiff challenges posed by counterfeit products,” he advised.

The Director further stated that the testing Lab of IICT became the first in Jammu & Kashmir to be granted the prestigious NABL accreditation in the textiles sector in 2023, in accordance with ISO/IEC standards. “The accreditation renewal will go a long way in testing and quality certification of not only hand-knotted carpets but also other non-GI textile products in Kashmir valley, conforming to ISO standards,” he added.