Centre awards nine GI tags to take total to 432

Source: The Hindu

Context:

Adding to the present collection of Geographical Indications (GIs), nine new items, including gamocha of Assam, Tandur red gram of Telangana, Raktsey Karpo apricot of Ladakh, and Alibag white onion of Maharashtra, have been given the coveted GI tag. Kerala has been awarded five GI tags for its agricultural produce.

Total GI tags in India:

1. With this, the total number of GI tags in India comes to 432.
2. The top five states holding the maximum number of GIs are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala.
3. Of these, 401 are Indian-origin products, and 31 are foreign-origin.
4. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the states with the highest number of GI tags, followed by Kerala(35), Uttar Pradesh (34), and Maharashtra (31).

What is GI Tag?

The Geographical Indication is recognised by the World Trade Organization.

It is used to denote the geographical territory from where a product--agricultural, natural or manufactured--originates, and also carries an assurance of quality and attributes unique to that specific geographic region.

India became a signatory to this convention, when, as a member of WTO, it enacted the Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection) Act, of 1999, which came into effect on September 15, 2003.

GI Registry:

To protect the GI of goods, a GI registry has been established to administer the GI of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, under the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks.