Common branding of craft products can protect heritage and also promote economic empowerment. Critically analyse.

Common branding sells many artisans' products under one label that buyers recognise. BHARAT TULIP (Traditional Artisans' Upliftment Livelihood Programme) tests this idea. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) launched it on 5 November 2024 for SC, OBC, sanitation-worker and PwD artisans [2]. Branding can serve both heritage and livelihoods, but only if listings turn into incomes.

Protecting heritage

• Commercial viability keeps crafts alive. Handwoven textiles, handcrafted jewellery and traditional leather products are sold under one brand [1].
• Visibility: unified Bharat-TULIP branding and packaging are used at Shilp Samagam and other exhibitions [3]. The 2024 Mela alone had 105 stalls from 16 states [4].

Promoting economic empowerment

• Market access, more than skill, is the binding constraint. More than 100 products have been onboarded on ONDC and Amazon [3].
• Bundled support: concessional lending, cluster development, skilling and handholding [3], plus quality assurance, digital marketing and logistics [1].
• It advances Article 46, which asks the State to promote the economic interests of weaker sections.

Limitations

• Output, not outcome: only listings are reported. Sales, artisan incomes and the budget are not [3].
• Dependency: artisans rely on the scheme for quality checks and logistics [1]. Even ONDC needed a seller handbook in 14 languages and the "Sahayak" WhatsApp bot to support sellers [5]. The implementing agency could become the new middleman.
• Fragmentation: TRIFED sells ST artisans' products separately on ONDC, Amazon and Flipkart [6]. PM Vishwakarma overlaps with TULIP, and three corporations sit behind one label [3].
• Caste–occupation lock-in: branding hereditary crafts such as leather work may entrench caste-linked work. NSKFDC, by contrast, aims to move sanitation workers out of such work [3].

Way forward

• Publish sales and income data for each artisan every year.
• Ask the Parliamentary Standing Committee for an impact review, like its 54th Report on NSFDC micro-credit [7].
• Share catalogues and logistics with TRIFED and PM Vishwakarma.
• Track whether beneficiaries come from hereditary craft families or are first-generation artisans.

Common branding protects heritage by making crafts sellable, and it empowers artisans by opening markets. Its gains remain unproven without outcome data and convergence across schemes. If BHARAT TULIP is measured, converged and owned by artisans, it can become an income ladder rather than just a label. That would fulfil Article 46 and SDG 8's goal of decent work, and make heritage a source of dignity rather than a caste inheritance.