JOIN USThe rich diversity of Karnataka encompassing handicrafts, agricultural produce and manufactured products is manifested in the sheer number of Geographical Indication (GI) tags that have been given to it.
Karnataka seems to be extremely conscious of the concept of ‘Geographical Indication’. Efforts in getting GIs for its products have been made by both the government and voluntary organisations to protect and promote the State's cultural and biological diversity.
Among them, at the last count, it has received as many as 33 products to its credit in the GI Registry, occupying the top slot in the country, followed by Tamil Nadu which has 24 products to its credit in the GI Registry. Tamil Nadu leads in ensuring GI protection in India filing 26 more applications that are still pending, taking the total to 50.
Celebrating diversity
The famed Mysore Silk was among the first to get a GI tag by the efforts of the State-owned Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC). To bear the ‘Mysore’ name, the silk must be made in the Mysuru region and manufacturers and traders will have to be authorised by KSIC. The products will have the ‘Intellectual Property India’ stamp. The Mysore silk brand was being misused by many others who used inferior quality silk and called it Mysore silk. The misuse was rampant in Mysuru, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.
The GI for the world renowned Mysore agarbathis was obtained by the Bengaluru-based All India Agarbathi Manufacturers Association. The Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation (KSHDC) secured GI tags for Mysore rosewood inlay work, Bidar's Bidriware, Mysore traditional paintings, Channapatna toys and dolls, Dharwad kasuti, embroidery work of Molakalmuru sarees, Navalgund durries and Mysore ganjifa cards.
The Horticulture Department secured GI tags for nearly a dozen crops and is in the process of transferring the ‘ownership’ rights to farmer societies. The crops include Devanahalli chakkota (pomelo), Nanjungud rasabale (banana), Mysore, Hadagali and Udupi mallige (jasmine), Coorg orange, appemidi (mango), Mysore betel leaf and Kamlapura
kempubale (red banana).
The colourful, finely crafted wooden toys of Channapatna got the GI tag in 2006. They had been facing the threat of extinction due to machine-made counterfeits from China that are priced less than half of the original toys and are sold in the open. GI protection raised hopes of protection against fakes, growing demand and export promotion which would result in rejuvenation of the dying industry. However, with poor enforcement records, the status of GI has done little to help the artisans at the grassroot level.
The greenish-yellow Coorg oranges with a tight skin and a tangy taste, once regarded as the pride of Kodagu, were facing extinction. However, this high-yielding and fine-flavoured fruit that has been an inter-crop among coffee plantations for over 160 years got a new lease of life by the Horticulture Department after it was granted a GI certificate in 2005-06.
The Monsooned Malabar Arabica Coffee and the Monsooned Malabar Robusta Coffee which
received their GI Tag in 2007-08 have a great demand in Scandinavian countries because of their unique colour and special taste, but are threatened by imitation coffee that is being pushed into the market by some foreign coffee firms.
Exploring possibilities
The famed ‘Mattu Gulla’, a special variety of brinjal, grown in and around Mattu village in Udupi district, is sought after for its unique taste. Nearly 200 farmers grow this brinjal on about 150 acres of land in Mattu and its surrounding villages such as Kopla, Kaipunjal, Uliyargoli and Pangala. Even as the controversy was raging over Bt Brinjal, this native brinjal variety got its GI tag in 2011-12. The growers are now focusing on increasing the productivity of the crop and exporting it to hitherto unexplored territories.
Bangalore Blue grape variety got its GI tag in 2012-13. It is exclusively grown in Bengaluru Urban, Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts. Its cultivation has been going on for the past 150 years in about 5,000 hectares. The livelihood of over 15,000 farmers in Nandi Valley depends on its cultivation. If this variety of grapes is grown in any other area it will be devoid of its characteristic flavour and colour. It needs to be grown in red sandy loam soil at a day temperature of about 35-37 degrees Celsius and night temperature of 12-15 degree Celsius which is unique to Bengaluru and its surrounding areas.
Besides for table consumption and the making of jams and jellies, it is also purchased by the wine industry. However, wine prepared by this variety of grapes is not classified as classical variety but falls under the fortified grade. As a result, the State’s wine policy doesn’t extend exclusive subsidies to this variety of grapes like it does for the French variety of grapes, which is a bone of contention among the cultivators. The GI status has not really helped the growers to get subsidy from the government.
The latest produce to get the GI tag is the famed Bangalore rose onion. It is the 217th product in India to get the tag. It is grown in 16 taluks of Bengaluru rural, Kolar and Doddaballapur districts. The credit for getting the GI tag goes to Bangalore Rose Onion Growers Association, facilitated by the Horticulture Department. The rose onion is exported to countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and extensively used in
Chinese cuisine.
Not a cake walk
However, getting a GI tag is not a cake walk. For instance, although Kolhapur is in Maharashtra, both Karnataka and Maharashtra have claimed the origin of the famed Kolhapuri footwear. A committee is examining this and a case is pending before the registrar.
Another example is Dharwad pedha, the only item in the foodstuff category to receive the GI tag. But bakeries and sweetmeat shops across Bengaluru and other parts of the State have been preparing and selling pedhas using the brand ‘Dharwad’.
Once a GI tag is obtained, it is mandatory that the goods have originated in the geographical area tagged. The same is the case for almost all products and crops with the GI tag in the State. Imitations of Mysore Silk, Channapatna toys and dolls, and Ilkal saris, among others, continue to flourish in the market. Yet, the quest for the GI tag is on.
Indigenous knowledge
Geographical Indication tag indicates an item’s distinctive origin. When a product is given GI status, its price increases in the international market as consumers prefer such ‘exotic’ items. Thus, it boosts exports and tourism.
Poor farmers or artisans from the given region have to face less competition from people selling bogus products and thus indirectly leads to sustainable development.
However, A GI tag is not the same as a trademark. The latter is given to a product which comes from a particular enterprise/company. A GI tag, given only to a physical product, is enjoyed by the entire community of a region.
India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act in 1999, and the law came into force with effect from September 2003. In India, the GI's registry operates in Chennai and is a part of the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks. A GI is registered for an initial period of 10 years, which may be renewed from time to time. Only an association of producers or an authority established under law can apply for GI registration. Producers and inventors can claim protection in other WTO-member countries only if their items are protected in the country of origin.