Six products from state get geographical indication tag, south tops list

The trademarks and geographical indication (GI) authorities on Wednesday awarded the unique tag to 21 products after a spurt in applications for the special status in the first three months of the year. Trademarks and GI assistant registrar Chinnaraja G Naidu said six of the 21 products were from Tamil Nadu. The six Tamil Nadu items granted the tag are Madurai malli (jasmine), Pattamadai pai (Pattamadai mat), Nachiarkoil kuthuvilakku (Nachiarkoil lamp), Toda embroidery, Thanjavur veena and Chettinad kottan (palmyra basketry). Traditional items from outside the state accorded the status include Mangalagiri saris and fabrics from Andhra Pradesh, Narayanpet handloom saris and Bangalore blue grapes from Karnataka and Agra durrie (carpet), Farrukhabad prints, Lucknow zardozi (embroidery, especially with gold or silver) and shuttle-woven Banaras brocades and saris from Uttar Pradesh. Mexican alcoholic beverage tequila was also accorded status on an application in the Chennai GI office. Karnataka, with 32, tops the list for products granted the GI tag and is followed by Tamil Nadu (24), Andhra Pradesh (22) and Kerala (20), Naidu said. Experts say north India's rich history means it has a legacy of diverse traditional products but fewer items from the north have been granted the GI tag than those from the south. They said there were fewer applications for the special status from outside the south in general because of a relative lack of awareness on the benefits of obtaining the GI tag. Only nine items from Uttar Pradesh, for example, have received the special status so far, said Chinnaraja G Naidu. A GI tag is given to a product to indicate that it has a specific geographical location or point of origin. The tag may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities or enjoys a certain reputation due to its geographical origin, thus enhancing its marketability. "The mark gives the products a reputation attributable to a place of origin or the area where it is manufactured. With GI certification, a product stands apart and it cannot be manufactured outside of its place of origin or by artisans not from the area," Naidu said.

Additional government pleader P Sanjai Gandhi, who appealed on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation for GI tag for Pattamadai pai, Nachiarkoil kuthuvilakku and Toda embroidery, said Tamil Nadu was in fourth spot in the number of items granted the special status. "It moved to second after six products were given the GI tag on Wednesday," he said.