India’s GI journey: Few hits, more misses
₹6,000 and goes up to ₹25 lakh a piece, depending on the size and craftsmanship. “But many artists now use cheaper raw materials to cut costs. There is no monitoring or quality check to tell a fake from an original.
Even government emporiums sell these counterfeit paintings," Raju says. Till end November, 496 products have earned a GI tag from the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, under the central commerce ministry. More additions are in the pipeline.
These include agricultural products like litchis from Bihar, hand embroidered garments like Lucknow chikan and food preparations like Bikaneri bhujia, a savory snack from Rajasthan. But the fate of most of these products are not vastly different from that of Thanjavur paintings. The registrations are a record of India’s diverse cultural and agricultural heritage but in most cases did not translate into better economic opportunities for producers.
Very few products have a global footprint, except some like Basmati rice, Alphonso mangoes grown in coastal Maharashtra, and Darjeeling tea from West Bengal. This is unlike global success stories like the Tequila from Mexico, coffee from Columbia and Scotch whiskey from the UK. The objective behind GI registrations is to empower communities and protect their collective intellectual property, says Unnat Pandit, controller general at India’s patent office.
Pandit adds that the next phase in this journey is focused on creating sustainable livelihoods and exploring global opportunities. “India has a huge potential and can add around 15,000 products to its GI registry. Registration of products like pashmina shawl and saffron (from Kashmir), Morena gajak (a dessert from Madhya Pradesh) and textile
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