7 products from Rajasthan, Goa & UP get Geographical Indication tag

Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) under the Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade (DIPIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has granted Geographical Indications (GI) tags for 7 new products from 3 states– 4 from Rajasthan, 2 from Goa and 1 from Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The GI-tagged 7 products are:

Key Points:

Udaipur Koftgari Metal Craft:

iAs per the documents submitted to the GI Registry, weapons are exquisitely ornamented by a complicated process.

ii.The process includes etching designs, heating, and then cooling, intertwined with embedding gold and silver wire into the metal, pressing and flattening it to a smooth surface with a moonstone, and finally polishing it.

ii.Bikaner Kashidakari Craft:

• The craft is traditionally created on cotton, silk, or velvet with a variety of fine stitches and mirror-work, and the craft finds special places in marriage, and is commonly used for creating gift items.
• The mirrors are believed to have the power to repel the ‘evil eye’ with their reflective surfaces.
• The weaving of fabrics for Bikaner Kashidakari Craft was primarily carried out by the Meghwal community.

iii.Jodhpur Bandhej Craft:

• The traditional Rajasthani craft involves the intricate process of tying and dyeing fabrics and is one of the most famous textile art forms of Rajasthan.
• The fabrics used for Bandhej are muslin, silk, and voile. Cotton thread is used for tying the fabric.

iv.Bikaner Usta Kala Craft:

• It is also known as Gold Nakashi or Gold Manauti work and the art form is famous for its long-lasting Golden Colour.
• Untreated raw camel hide is processed and moulded by the Dapgar community of leather craftspeople for the requirements of the Usta.

v.Goa Mankurad Mango:

• The application for the ‘Mankurad mango‘ was filed by the All Goa Mango Growers Association, Panaji (Goa).
• Mankurad Mango has many other names like Kurad, Goa Mankur, Malcorado, Cardozo Mankurad, or Corado.
• It is the most famous and popular mango variety in Goa and is also known as the table mango and has a longer shelf life.
• The name ‘Malcardo‘ was named by Portuguese and it means ‘Poor Colored‘, with time, it became Mankurad Aamo (mango) in Konkani (a language spoken mainly in Goa).

vi.Goan bebinca:

• The application for the Goan bebinca was filed by the All Goa Bakers and Confectioners Association.
• Bebinca or bibik, popularly known as the Queen of Goan Sweets/desserts, is a traditional Indo-Portuguese pudding.

vii.Jalesar Dhatu Shilp:

• Jalesar Dhatu Shilp in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district holds historical significance as it was once the capital of Magadha king Jarasandha.
• Currently, over 1,200 small units are dedicated to creating decorative metal crafts and brassware, such as Ghungrus (anklets) and Ghantis (bells).
• This craft is carefully crafted by the skilled artisans of the Thatheras community, residing in the mohalla locality named Hathuras.

TN’s Jaderi ‘Namakatti’, Chedibutta Saree & Matti banana gets GI tag; TN tops GI chart with 58 Tags

Three new products of Tamil Nadu (TN), Tiruvannamalai’s Jaderi namakatti, Tirunelveli’s Chedibutta saree, and Kanniyakumari’s Matti banana, has been recognised with GI tag. With the addition of these 3 new products the total number of GI tagged products from TN has become 58.

With this, TN has become the state with highest number of GI tagged products.

• Uttar Pradesh holds the second position with 53 GI products followed by Karnataka (48), Kerala (36) and Maharashtra (34).

• The GI tags given by the GIs Registry located in Chennai, TN, and the above-mentioned figures are as of April 2023.

Jaderi Namakatti:

i.The GI application for Jaderi Namakatti was filed on behalf of Jaderi Thiruman (Namakatti) Producers Society in Jaderi in Thiruvannamalai district.

ii.About 120 families in the tiny village of Jaderi in Tiruvannamalai district have been making these Namakatti for about 3 centuries and supplying them all over India and abroad.

iii.The natural ingredients available in Thenpoondipattu village are collected and made into Namakatti by artisans after a time-consuming process.

iv.These are finger-length long clay pieces, made up of rich deposits of hydrous silicate minerals.

v.The fine grain particles of clay are cured by natural weathering or alteration of other silicates that smoothen them with unique white colour and texture.

Matti banana:

i.The application for the Kanniyakumari Matti Banana was filed by the Kanyakumari Banana and Horticulture Farmers Producer Company Limited.

ii.The scientific name of the Matti banana is ‘Musa Sapidisiaca‘, which is commercially grown in the high rainfall zone (1469 millimeters) in Kanyakumari.

• Mostly grown in the Agatheeswaram, Thovolai, Thiruvattar taluks of the Kanyakumari district

iii.It has high medicinal value and is known to be highly fragrant, sweet and sub-acid in flavour, firm in texture, and powdery in nature.

iv.The 15-month-old crop is considered rare and is grown only in the hills of South Travancore (Undivided TN and Kerala) near Nagarcoil.

v.Each bunch of Matti Banana weighs between 12-19 kilos. Other common variants of Kanniyakumari Matti Banana include Semmatti (red Matti), Thaen Matti (honey Matti), and Malai Matti (Hill Matti).

vi.Even though banana is not generally recommended to infants for up to 6 months, Matti banana variety can be safely consumed by infants, and the corm extract from the fruit is also used as a jaundice cure.

Note: 1 medium-sized banana would provide 13% of Manganese for a person’s daily needs and it helps the body make Collagen and protects the skin and other cells from free radical damage.

Chedibutta Sarees:

i.The application for the Chedibutta Sarees has been filed by the Veeravanallur Sowrashtra Weavers Cooperative Production and Sales Society Limited in Tirunelveli district.

ii.The name Chedibutta is a combination of two Tamil words: ‘Chedi’ (plant) and ‘Butta’ (motif or design).

iii.It has the iconic “plant and flower” motif woven on the border and Pallu (edge of the saree) and these small Buttas punctuated beautifully all over the saree.

iv.It is totally a handloom product made in art silk and cotton mix fabric. One Chedibutta saree contains 8 Chedibutta designs in the body and 5 on the Pallu

v.The saree is woven using art silk thread while the Chedibutta designs are made using brightly coloured cotton threads.

vi.Sowrashtra community members are the primary weavers of these traditional handloom sarees.

Key Points:

i.Currently, the GI recognition has been earned by so many products attorneys, artisans and authorities should make collective efforts to monetise the achievement.

• The efforts include completing the remaining legal formalities like filing authorised user applications.

ii.It will allow the authorised producer to market these products under GI tag exclusively.

iii.Separate legal protection is available for these products and they will get global approval to sell these products in various countries.

About GI Tag:

i.GI is an indication used to identify products having special characteristics originating from a definite geographical origin.

ii.India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, to provide for the registration and better protection of GI relating to goods in India, which came into force with effect from September 2003.

iii.A GI is registered for an initial period of ten years, which may be renewed from time to time.

Recent related news:

The Geographical Indication (GI) Tag has been granted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I) to several products of Madhya Pradesh (MP), which include 5 handcrafts product, 1 Agricultural product, 1 Food stuff, 1 Textile product.