Leveraging GI can help India go vocal for local

In the recently, concluded 7th meeting of the Niti Aayog Governing Council chaired by our PM Modi, there was an reiteration on going vocal for local and how states need to focus more on improving trade, tourism and technology. One such missing link could be the humble Geographical Indication (GI) products to leverage this.

A Geographical Indication is a mark, symbol, name used for a product coming from a special geographical location and having unique and specific characteristic with immense repute and an irrefutable historical legacy for generations together. The GIs can be a natural product, a handicraft, a foodstuff, a manufactured product and an agricultural product. India has come a long way in GIs from Darjeeling tea to Hyderabad Lac bangles with over 920 GI applications filed and more than 400 registered in the last 15 years and about 9,000 authorized users in the country, but we still have a long way to cover in GIs to bring in the much-awaited economic gains to the stakeholders.

There has been much focus on registration of GI products with not much promotion and branding to make consumers aware of the premium which GI tag gives the products. There is no better time for us to have a clarion call of 'Ghar Ghar GI' and start a campaign on buying and gifting GI products by all Indians under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The challenge will be to generate demand among Indians and bring in a change of mindset to appreciate more of Indian handicrafts and handlooms to develop more trade for artisans and weavers.

Another, potential area is tourism, where in special packages need to be planned by State tourism department to places of GI production for giving tourists the look and feel of making these products and also an opportunity to interact and buy directly from the artisans. There are more than 400 GI's registered, out of which over 300 are Indian GIs housed in various districts of States of India, which can directly lead to enhance tourism and trade in the country. A good tourism circuits can be chalked out for more foot falls and revive places of heritage and culture.

technology like bar coding - QR codes to identify authentic GI and usage of blockchain to see the traceability of GIs from the source to the end customer can be a game changer to make authentic products reached out to customers. Many startups can work on these technologies to provide solutions for better marketing and supply chain logistics in GI transactions. To conclude, GI will be a game-changer in Indian economy with our society going back to adopt more and more Indian traditions in medicine, diet and the day will not be far off when India's GIs will be crossing borders with the right blend of technology, design and quality being infused in bringing authentic and world class products to customers across the globe.

(Saha is Head of Legal &IPR, Resolute Group of Companies and Former Director of CII Telangana and Registered IP practitioner)