• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal set a target to register 10,000 GI (Geographical Indication) products by 2030 from the current 605.

• A committee will be set up to oversee this effort, to take the GI registrations to 10,000 by 2030.

• The minister said that the government is hiring more and more people to strengthen the workforce of the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and TradeMarks (CGPDTM).

Benefits of GI tag

• A Geographical Indication (GI) tag is used for an agricultural, natural, or a manufactured product (handicraft and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.

• The GI tag helps producers get the premium price of the product as no other producer can misuse the name to market similar goods.

• Any association of persons, producers, organisation or authority established by or under the law can apply. The applicant must represent the interests of the producers.

• Once a product gets this tag, any person or company cannot sell a similar item under that name. This tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

• Basmati rice, Darjeeling Tea, Chanderi Fabric, Mysore Silk, Kullu Shawl, Kangra Tea, Thanjavur Paintings, Allahabad Surkha, Farrukhabad Prints, Lucknow Zardozi, and Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving are among the registered GIs in India.

• The other benefits of GI registration include legal protection to that item, prevention against unauthorised use by others, and promoting exports.

• There is a proper process of registration of GI products which includes filing of application, preliminary scrutiny and examination, show cause notice, publication in the geographical indications journal, opposition to registration, and registration.

• It is a legal right under which the GI holder can prohibit others from using the same name.

• Geographical Indications Registry is a statutory organisation setup for the administration of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 which came into force on September 15, 2003.

• Under Articles 1(2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, geographical indications are covered as an element of Intellectual Property Rights. 

• They are also covered under Articles 22 to 24 of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, which was part of the agreements concluding the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations.

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