PM Modi Expresses Happiness as Ladakh's Wood Carving Secures Prestigious GI Tag

In response to a tweet from a Ladakh Member of Parliament, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the Prime Minister stated, "This will increase the popularity of Ladakh's cultural traditions and benefit artisans. Greetings to the people of Ladakh for getting GI Tag to Ladakh's Wood Carving, a first of its kind," Namgyal tweeted on April 4.

Meanwhile, the world-renowned 'Basohli Painting' from Kathua district received the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag on Monday, thanks to permission from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)-Jammu.

The Jammu region has received a GI tag for handicrafts for the first time in the history of GI registration. According to an official announcement, NABARD began the process of GI tagging nine Jammu region products in December 2020, in cooperation with the Department of Handicrafts and Handloom, amid the challenging times of pandemic. After a lengthy legal process, many products have finally received GI tags.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal congratulated the country on receiving 33 GI badges, the most ever in a single year, using his official Twitter handle. The items from Jammu and Kashmir's UT have been added to the list of 33 products that will acquire the GI label on March 31, 2023. Geographical Indications (GI) are a type of Intellectual Property right that distinguishes items that originate from a certain geographical region and have distinct nature, quality, and characteristics that are linked to that location.

According to the official statement, the Basohli artwork of Kathua district is the region's first autonomous GI-tagged product. Now, only an authorized user has the exclusive right to use the Geographical Indication in relation to these products. Due to this, no person can copy it from beyond their geographical areas.

This will prevent unauthorized use of these registered Geographical Indication goods by third parties besides will boost exports and promote their brands at the international level, thereby promoting the economic prosperity of producers and related stakeholders including contribution to the GDP of the country.

NABARD Chief General Manager Ajay Kumar Sood commended the UT government's related departments, all GI applicant organizations, and notably the skilled leadership of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. He also stated that post-GI development programmes for the product will now be undertaken for training and capacity building, brand building, and marketability.