Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his personal intervention to not allow Geographical Indication (GI) tagging of Basmati to Madhya Pradesh, in the larger interest of Punjab and other states which are already Basmati GI tagged.
Apart from Punjab, other states which already have GI tagging for Basmati are Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Western UP, and select districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Noting that All India Rice Exporters’ Association is also vigorously opposed to consider any claim of MP for GI tag for Basmati, raising concerns about its serious negative impact on Indian export potential, the Chief Minister noted that India exported Basmati to the tune of Rs 33,000 crore every year, but any dilution in registration of Indian Basmati may give advantage to Pakistan (which also produces Basmati as per GI tagging) in international market in terms of Basmati characteristics, quality parameters.
Capt Amarinder, in his letter to the Prime Minister, has drawn his attention to the economically and socially important issue of Geographical Tagging, saying that GI tagging of MP Basmati would negatively impact the state’s agriculture and also India’s Basmati exports. Madhya Pradesh has sought inclusion of its 13 districts for GI tagging for Basmati.
Urging Modi to direct the concerned authorities not to disturb the status quo in this matter, the Chief Minister said that this was essential for safeguarding the interests of farmers and Basmati exporters of India.
The Chief Minister argued that Madhya Pradesh “does not fall under the specialized zone for Basmati cultivation”, and that was why MP was not included in indigenous area of Basmati cultivation in the history of India. “MP's move to get its area included for Basmati tagging is a direct violation of the GI tagging procedure and laws, and any attempt to breach the GI tagging areas will not only hit the status of aromatic Basmati cultivation in India’s specialized area in but will also negate the purpose of GI tagging regulation in the Indian context,” he said.
Capt Amarinder pointed out that MP’s earlier attempts to get the GI tag for basmati cultivation had also rejected by various authorities — by Registrar of Geographical Indications (RGI) in 2017-18, Centre’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board, and even by the Madras High Court after MP challenged the earlier rejections.