Banarasi Paan, Barabanki Handloom & Other Exclusive Uttar Pradesh Products to Get Geographical Identification Tag

The Barabanki handlooms and several other exclusive products of Uttar Pradesh will get the prestigious Geographical Identification (GI) certification that will give them legal protection and an impetus to their exports. 

The ODOP (One District One Product) Cell of the MSME department, in association with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Varanasi-based organization, Human Welfare Association (HWA), has already initiated an exercise in this regard. 

Rajni Kant, President HWA also informed that the work is almost in final stage for applying to the GI Registry in Chennai. 

Kant is an expert on GI and has been assigned by the state government to look into the matter, said, "The list of prospective goods includes Banarasi paan, Banarasi Langra, Adamchini rice, Ram Nagar baigan (brinjal), Barabanki handloom, Muzaffarnagar gud (jaggery), Agra leather footwear, Baghpat handloom, Jalaun handmade paper and Jailsar Ghati ghunghroo. 

About 26 exclusive products, which have specific geographical origin and possess qualities or reputation of that origin, have already received GI certification. The terracotta art of Gorakhpur, the home district of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was the latest to join the league of GI tagged goods. 

A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin.  

Recently the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) has started working with the state’s Mandi Parishad to obtain a geographical indication (GI) tag for mango varieties Gavarajit, Banarasi Langda, Chausa and Rataul. Malihabad’s Dussehri Mango already has GI registration. 

The GI registration will help the varieties get a good market within the country and also abroad. 
CISH Director Shailendra Rajan opined that after certification, farmers will have to face less competition during marketing. It is enough to say that this is a GI tagged product. GI can also be considered as a standard of quality in many ways. The traders of Mangoes can also get help in trading mango fruit produced from GI certified areas. This will have a direct impact on the price the farmers get.