Optimize IAS
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Courses
    • Prelims Test Series
      • LAQSHYA 2026 Prelims Mentorship
      • Prelims Test Series 2025
    • CSE Integrated Guidance 2025
      • ARJUNA PRIME 2025
    • Mains Mentorship
      • Arjuna 2026 Mains Mentorship
  • Portal Login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Courses
    • Prelims Test Series
      • LAQSHYA 2026 Prelims Mentorship
      • Prelims Test Series 2025
    • CSE Integrated Guidance 2025
      • ARJUNA PRIME 2025
    • Mains Mentorship
      • Arjuna 2026 Mains Mentorship
  • Portal Login

India’s ‘protected’ basmati varieties renamed & cultivated in Pak, IARI demands legal action

  • March 22, 2024
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
No Comments

 

 

India’s ‘protected’ basmati varieties renamed & cultivated in Pak, IARI demands legal action

Subject: Geography

Section: Eco Geography

Context:

  • IARI has raised concerns about Pakistan’s unauthorized cultivation and marketing of IARI-bred basmati rice varieties, including Pusa Basmati-1121, PB-6, PB-1509, PB-1847, PB-1885, and PB-1886.
  • These varieties, accounting for approximately 90% of India’s basmati exports, are protected under Indian law,limiting their cultivation to certain regions within India and restricting seed sales.
  • The illegal cultivation in Pakistan undermines the rights of Indian breeders and farmers.

Variety Piracy Issues- Specific Varieties and Responses

  • Pakistani seed firms need only a small quantity of seeds to multiply these varieties, facilitating illegal propagation.
  • Pusa Basmati-1121 (PB-1121): Known for the extra kernel length of its grains, officially registered in Pakistan as ‘PK 1121 Aromatic’ and marketed as ‘1121 Kainat’.
  • Other Varieties:PB-6 and PB-1509 have also been adopted in Pakistan, with PB-1509 being registered as ‘Kissan Basmati’.
    • Improved Pusa Basmati 1 (Pusa 1460) – First product of molecular breeding in rice in India.
    • Pusa Basmati 6 (Pusa 1401) – Superior grain quality.
    • Pusa RH10 – Theworld’s first superfine grain aromatic rice hybrid: It was released in 2001 for commercial cultivation in the irrigated eco-systems of Haryana, Delhi and Uttaranchal.
  • Newer Varieties:IARI’s latest varieties like PB-1847, PB-1885, and PB-1886, bred for disease resistance, are being grown in Pakistan, and acknowledged in YouTube videos by Pakistani farms.

Legal protection for these rice varieties:

  • IARI Director A.K. Singh has called for legal measures against Pakistani seed firms to protect Indian interests.
  • All the varieties are notified under the Seeds Act, 1966 for cultivation in the officially demarcated Geographical Indication area of basmati rice within India, covering 7 northern states.
  • They are further registered under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001. This Act allows only Indian farmers to sow, save, re-sow, exchange or share the seeds of any protected/registered varieties. Even they cannot violate the breeder’s rights by selling the seeds in branded packaged and labelled form

India’s Basmati Rice Exports:

  • Poised to hit a new high, with projections reaching $5.5 billion for 2023-24, driven largely by high-yielding varieties developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).
  • India dominates markets in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and West Asia, with a preference for parboiled rice.
  • Pakistan’s Basmati Exports:
    • Significantly lower than India’s, with exports valued at $694.55 million in 2021-22 and $650.42 million in 2022-23.
    • The first seven months of 2023-24 saw a 24.3% increase in quantity and a 35.6% increase in value over the previous year.
    • Pakistan enjoys an 85% share of the EU-UK market due to lower export prices facilitated by the depreciation of the Pakistani rupee.

Source: IE

India’s ‘protected’ basmati varieties renamed & cultivated in Pak

Recent Posts

  • Daily Prelims Notes 23 March 2025 March 23, 2025
  • Challenges in Uploading Voting Data March 23, 2025
  • Fertilizers Committee Warns Against Under-Funding of Nutrient Subsidy Schemes March 23, 2025
  • Tavasya: The Fourth Krivak-Class Stealth Frigate Launched March 23, 2025
  • Indo-French Naval Exercise Varuna 2024 March 23, 2025
  • No Mismatch Between Circulating Influenza Strains and Vaccine Strains March 23, 2025
  • South Cascade Glacier March 22, 2025
  • Made-in-India Web Browser March 22, 2025
  • Charting a route for IORA under India’s chairship March 22, 2025
  • Mar-a-Lago Accord and dollar devaluation March 22, 2025

About

If IAS is your destination, begin your journey with Optimize IAS.

Hi There, I am Santosh I have the unique distinction of clearing all 6 UPSC CSE Prelims with huge margins.

I mastered the art of clearing UPSC CSE Prelims and in the process devised an unbeatable strategy to ace Prelims which many students struggle to do.

Contact us

moc.saiezimitpo@tcatnoc

For More Details

Work with Us

Connect With Me

Course Portal
Search