Aromatic Rice in Only Six States Gets Basmati Stamp

CHENNAI: In the long-standing dispute over the geographical index (GI) tag for the world-famous basmati rice, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) here has ruled that the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is entitled to the GI tag for the rice variety grown in areas and regions spread across six states.

Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are the States where the long-grain aromatic rice has a recorded history of cultivation for over 200 years, the authority had specified in its certified copies of maps annexed with its application.

However, while giving its ruling on Friday, the board comprising chairman Justice K N Basha and technical (Trade Marks) member Sanjeev Kumar Chaswal also directed the Assistant Registrar, GI Registry in Chennai, to reconsider the claim of others for inclusion of areas specified in Madhya Pradesh and other places and pass an order within six months.

The board also directed the Assistant Registrar to proceed with the registration and issue the certificate within four weeks.

Originally, the APEDA, the statutory authority functioning under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, had applied for registration of GI basmati rice in its favour in May 2010.  But various other organisations and associations in several States, including Madhya Pradesh, opposed it, seeking to be granted the GI tag for the produce from their area.