Geographical Indication (GI) Tags in India

Latest Update: Gucci Mushroom from Jammu and geographical region is within the news as GI Tag is looking for it. It belongs to the agriculture sector; whereas there square measure many others from the handicraft sector that GI tags square measure looked for. Those squares measure – Basohli Pashmina & Painting, Tweed material, Loi blankets from Kishtwar and Chikri craft. Hence, UPSC IAS communicating aspirants ought to understand what’s a GI Tag and what’s its significance. 

GI tag is the abbreviation of Geographical Indications tags in India. It came into force with results from fifteenth September 2003. Darjeeling Tea was the primary Indian product to urge a GI tag. This text can discuss additional such data on GI thoroughly. 

The government has assigned GI Tags to the geographical region Saffron and Manipuri Black Rice recently.

GI tags to four new products from three completely different states in August 2019.

• Palani Panchamirtham in Palani city, Tamil Nadu
• Tawla Lohan from Mizoram
• Mizo Puanchei from Mizoram
• Tirur true pepper leaf from Kerala

Madhya Pradesh’s plea to place the state’s basmati rice below the Geographical Indication tag was recently dismissed. Aspirants ought to remember the list of GI Tags in India because it is very important for IAS communication and different competitive exams.

Who accords and regulates Geographical Indications

• Geographical Indications square measure lined as a part of property rights (IPRs) beneath the Paris Convention for the Protection of Commercial Property.
• At the International level, GI is ruled by the planet Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Property Rights (TRIPS).
• In India, Geographical Indications registration is run by the Geographical Indications of products (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 that came into force with impact from Sept 2003.
• The first product in Asian nation to be accorded with GI tag was Darjeeling tea within the year 2004-05

Benefits of GI Tags

The Geographical Indication registration confers the subsequent benefits:

• Legal protection to the merchandise
• Prevents unauthorised use of GI tag merchandise by others
• It helps shoppers to urge quality merchandise of desired traits and is assured of credibility
• Promotes the economic prosperity of producers of GI tag merchandise by enhancing their demand in national and international markets
• Along with the advantages, there are sure problems related to GI tags yet. Off late, there has been an increase in disputes over the question of the place of origin of the merchandise into account. This gets aggravated thanks to an absence of clear historical proof. 

For example, the disputes encompassing the origin of Rasgulla, a well-liked afters, from jap Bharat. Each province and Odisha claim that the afters originated in their own states. By ‘winning’ a GI tag, every state is trying to push its own cultural and regional jingoism over the opposite.

• As a degree of debate, this kind of unhealthy competition tends to polarise the country on regional, cultural and linguistic lines. Most states in their rush to corner several GI tags as doable have forgotten to listen to boost the worth of merchandise already having a GI tag. 
• As a result, neither the area people nor the client are benefiting economically. This trend undercuts the terrible plan of GI protection to native endemic merchandise.

Conclusion

A geographical indication right facilitates those that have the correct to use the indication to ban its usage by a 3rd party whose product doesn’t change to the applicable standards.