GI tag for basmati rice

 GI tag for basmati rice

• Amid Madhya Pradesh government’s push for the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for basmati rice, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his personal intervention against allowing this in the larger interest of Punjab and other states which are already basmati GI tagged. 
• Apart from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh and select districts of Jammu and Kashmir have GI tagging for basmati
• India exported basmati to the tune of ₹33,000 crores every year
• Any dilution in registration may give advantage to Pakistan (which also produces basmati as per GI tagging) in the international market in terms of basmati characteristics, quality parameters
• GI tagging of Madhya Pradesh basmati would negatively impact the State’s agriculture and India’s basmati exports. Madhya Pradesh has sought inclusion of its 13 districts for GI tagging for basmati.
• As per the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 a geographical indication tag can be issued for agricultural goods that are originating in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of such goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. GI tag for basmati has been given based on the traditionally grown areas of basmati due to special aroma, quality and taste of the grain, which is indigenous to the region below the foothills of the Himalayas in the Indo­-Gangetic Plains and basmati of this area has distinct recognition across the world
• Madhya Pradesh did not fall under the specialized zone for basmati cultivation. “It was for this reason that the State was not included in the indigenous area of basmati cultivation in India.” 

GI Tag

• A geographical indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. To function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. Also, the qualities, characteristics, or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin. Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production.
• However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication. Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication. The registration of a geographical indication shall be for ten years but may be renewed from time to time. The Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce) appointed under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, shall be the Registrar of Geographical Indications.
• India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999, and has come into force with effect from 15th September 2003.

Source: The Hindu