More than 15 products from Uttarakhand bag GI tags

More than 15 products from Uttarakhand bag GI tags

Subject: Polity

Section: Judiciary

Context:

• From a local brick tea to textiles made from a Himalayan plant, over 15 products from Uttarakhand have been given the coveted GI tag by the Geographical Indications Registry.

Products which got GI Tag

• Uttarakhand’s Berinag tea, highly sought-after by London tea houses and tea blenders, is made from the leaves of a plant that grows wild in the Himalayas, which are then compressed into a solid mass.
• Bichhubuti fabrics, made from Himalayan nettle fibres, was also on the list of products that bagged the GI tag. As the plant’s fibres are hollow, they have the unique ability to accumulate air inside, thus creating a natural insulation and making an ideal clothing material for both winters and summers.
• The Uttarakhand mandua, a finger millet grown in Garhwal and Kumaon that is part of the staple diet in many parts of the State, was among the products granted GI tags.
• Similarly, jhangora, a home grown millet commonly cultivated in the rain-fed areas of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, got a tag.
• Gahat is one of the most important pulses growing in the dry regions of the State, whose medicinal uses have been known to Ayurveda and traditional physicians for centuries.
• Uttarakhand lal chawal, a red rice organically grown in the Purola region, was also on the list.
• Other products to receive GI tags included the Uttarakhand kala bhat (black soybean); malta fruit; chaulai (ramdana), a grain used on fasting days; buransh juice obtained from the red flowers of the Rhododendron arboreum; paharitoor dal; Uttarakhand likhai or wood carvings, Nainital mombatti (candles), the rangwalipichhoda of Kumaon, Ramnagar Nainital litchis, Ramgarh Nainital peaches, Chamoli wooden Ramman masks, and Almora Lakhorimirchis, a chilli variant.

What is a GI Tag?

• A geographical indication (GI) tag is a name or sign used on certain products that correspond to a specific geographical location or origin.
• For example, Darjeeling Tea, Kanchipuram Silk, etc.
• The GI tag ensures that only the authorised users or those residing in the geographical territory are allowed to use the popular product name.
• It also protects the product from being copied or imitated by others.
• A registered GI is valid for 10 years.

Legal Framework and Obligations:

• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
• It is governed and directed by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
• Furthermore, the significance of protecting industrial property and geographical indications as integral components of intellectual property is acknowledged and emphasized in Articles 1(2) and 10 of the Paris Convention.