Geographical Indications (GI) Tags in India

What people call a “GI tag”

• Registration helps eligible producers stop misleading use of the name.
• It does not make every item perfect.
• It does not give one company sole ownership.

The law and its timeline

• 1994: the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement set a basic GI standard.
• 1999: India passed the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act.
• 2002: India made rules for registration and related procedures. Later changes also apply, so use the current Registry guidance.
• 2004: Darjeeling Tea became the first registered Indian GI. Its Registry entry is application number one.
• The GI Registry is at Chennai.
• The Act sets the rights. The Rules and Registry process explain the filing steps.

What must an applicant show?

• The name must identify goods from a defined area.
• A quality, reputation or other trait must be linked to that origin.
• Goods may be agricultural, natural or manufactured.
• For manufactured goods, at least one production, processing or preparation step must happen in the area.
• A famous name alone does not prove the required link.

Who applies, and what goes in the file?

• An association of producers, another group or an authority may apply.
• It must represent the interests of the producers.
• The applicant describes the goods, area, special traits and production method.
• It gives a map and details of any inspection system.

Four steps to registration

1. Apply: the group files evidence and a place map.
2. Examine: the Registry checks the claim and may ask questions.
3. Publish: the accepted claim appears for public opposition.
4. Decide: the Registry hears any opposition and decides.

• Opposition means a formal objection to registration.
• Anyone may oppose within three months after publication.
• The Registrar may allow up to one extra month.
• The applicant may answer, and both sides may give evidence.

Term

• A registered GI lasts ten years and may be renewed.
• The ten-year term is counted from its filing date under the Act.
• Timely renewal matters.
• The Act allows renewal for further ten-year periods.

Who may use the GI name?

• A registered proprietor is the applicant body named on the register.
• A qualifying producer can seek registration as an authorised user under Section 17.
• The authorised user may then use the GI for the registered goods, subject to its conditions.
• A GI is linked to the defined place and goods.
• It cannot simply be sold or licensed away like a company brand.
• Imagine a weaving group that registers a place-linked cloth name.
• A local weaver still needs to meet the registered conditions.
• A seller elsewhere cannot use the name for unrelated cloth.

Real Indian examples

• Agriculture: Darjeeling Tea is the first Registry entry. Basmati covers a named area across several Indian states and areas.
• Handicraft: the official register lists Bidriware and Channapatna Toys. Their place links differ from those of crops.
• Textile: examples include Banarasi Saree and Kanjeevaram Saree. Check the exact registered name before citing one.
• Food: the Indian IP office lists Bikaneri Bhujia among GI examples.
• A regional recipe is not automatically registered just because it is popular.

Across borders

• A GI area can span several states.
• It may also raise questions across national borders.
• India’s registration does not by itself decide another country’s rights.
• Foreign protection depends on that country’s laws and procedures.

What protection does registration give?

• Registered proprietors and authorised users can seek relief for infringement.
• Authorised users have the right to use the GI for the registered goods.
• The law can address false origin claims and misleading use.
• Registration is not compulsory.
• Yet it provides the Act’s GI infringement route.
• Other legal remedies for misleading trade may still matter.

GI, trademark, patent, copyright

Benefits need work after registration

• A shared name can help buyers identify genuine place-linked goods.
• Producers may gain a stronger marketing story or better prices. These gains are possible, not automatic.
• Groups must keep standards clear and check who uses the name.
• Small makers may need help with registration, testing, records and enforcement.
• Fake labels, weak checks or middlemen can stop benefits from reaching producers.
• A GI records a place-linked trait or reputation. The label alone does not certify that every item meets every quality claim.
• Buyers and producer groups still need reliable checks.

WTO and the Indian Act

• WTO TRIPS gives baseline GI protection.
• It gives stronger rules for wine and spirit names.
• India uses its own Act to protect registered GIs for many types of goods.

Famous and exam-relevant Indian GI tags

• Use the registered name in an answer. Everyday spellings may differ from the official entry.

• *Basmati is multi-region. The registry lists Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Jammu and Kashmir is now a Union Territory. The register uses older state wording in some records.
• Spelling trap: the registered food name is “Tirupathi Laddu.” Its registry spelling has “th.”

Latest registered GI tags: a dated snapshot

• Checked 24 September 2026. These are selected entries marked “Registered” in the official GI public search.
• The records show certificate documents dated 28 March 2026. They are among the newest dated certificate documents visible in that search.
• This is a snapshot, not a complete list of every GI registered that day. Application numbers are not a time order.

• Date note: entry 1366 shows a filled certificate date and number. The other record pages show dated certificate documents, but leave their certificate-date fields blank.
• Check the live GI Registry search before citing a newer entry. Renewals are not new GI registrations.

Counts and rankings

• GI totals and state rankings change when the Registry adds or renews entries.
• Use a dated official register for any count.
• Do not repeat a ranking without its date and counting method.
• Many Indian goods have deep local histories. Registration is only one step.
• Producers also need fair access to the name, clear standards and action against misuse.

Primary sources

• Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999: filing, opposition, users, duration and rights.
• GI Rules and later amendments: the current Rules collection.
• Indian GI Registry filing guide: application and opposition flow.
• GI Registry questions and answers: use and renewal.
• Public GI register: exact names, areas and status.
• WTO TRIPS GI explanation: international baseline.
• WIPO GI questions and answers: GI and trademark comparison.

Short answer: both West Bengal and Odisha. Each state holds its own GI tag. But each tag covers its own named version of the sweet, not the word “rasgulla” itself.

Why did the two states fight?

The fight was about where the sweet was born. Both states have a strong story.

• Odisha’s claim: rasagola is offered at the Jagannath Temple in Puri. In the Niladri Bije ritual, it is offered after the Rath Yatra. Odia scholars say this tradition goes back to the 12th century (Business Today).
• Odisha also points to the 15th-century Odia epic, the Dandi Ramayana, which mentions the sweet (ThePrint).
• Bengal’s claim: the spongy white rosogolla was created in 1868 by Nobin Chandra Das, a sweet-maker of Bagbazar in Kolkata. In 2018 a postal stamp in his honour marked 150 years of the sweet (Rasgulla).

How did the fight unfold?

• 2015: Odisha began its push to claim the sweet. West Bengal filed for “Banglar Rasogolla” in September.
• 14 November 2017: West Bengal got its GI tag.
• 13 February 2018: Ramesh Chandra Sahoo, head of a Bhubaneswar NGO, asked the Registry to remove Bengal’s tag. He said the sweet began at the Puri temple.
• 23 February 2018: Odisha filed for its own tag, “Odisha Rasagola”.
• 29 July 2019: Odisha got its GI tag. Its registration runs to 22 February 2028.
• 31 October 2019: the Registry treated Sahoo’s challenge as abandoned. His evidence came about 40 days late (ThePrint).
• 5 June 2025: the Madras High Court set that order aside. It sent the case back to the Registry for a fresh decision. It gave no view on who is right (Madras High Court order).

What did the GI tags actually decide?

Here is the key idea. A GI tag protects a named product linked to a place. It is not a court ruling on who invented a food.

• The Registry registered two names with a place word in front: “Banglar Rasogolla” and “Odisha Rasagola”.
• So the plain word “rasgulla” is not owned by either state (SpicyIP).
• The Registry said Bengal’s tag was for the Bengal version only. Odisha could get its own tag by showing how its version differs.
• That is exactly what happened. Each tag rests on a different colour, texture and method of making.

Mandar of Jharkhand gets a GI tag (September 2026)

• The GI Registry in Chennai gave a GI tag to “Mandar of Jharkhand” in September 2026 (Akashvani).
• The Mandar is a folk drum. It is central to the tribal music and dance of Jharkhand.
• Its body is made of local red clay, using traditional methods.
• A producer company from Gumla district filed the application on 24 September 2021.
• Note the gap: the claim took about five years from filing to tag.

Banglar Rasogolla case back before the Registry (August 2026)

• After the 2025 High Court order, the challenge to Bengal’s tag is being heard again. Both sides filed written arguments in August 2026 (GI Registry, application 533).
• As of 4 October 2026, the Registry record shows no final order. Bengal’s registration has been renewed and is valid until 17 September 2035.
• Why it matters: a GI tag can be challenged after it is granted. The full story is in the Rasgulla case study above.

GI as a tool for heritage and income (PIB, 4 August 2026)

• A PIB explainer describes GI tags as a seal of authenticity for artisanal crafts.
• India has over 800 registered GI products, and 607 GIs have been granted since 2014.
• Authorised users rose from 365 to 29,000 in ten years (as of January 2025).
• As per the Ministry of Textiles, a GI can raise rural artisans’ incomes by 20-30%.
• Muzaffarnagar Jaggery: Brijnandan Agro Farmer Producer Company exported 30 metric tons to Bangladesh in 2025, benefiting its 545 members.
• Leading export destinations include the UK, Italy, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, the USA and South Korea.
• GIs are recognised internationally under the Paris Convention and WTO TRIPS.
• The 2025 amendment to the Rules cut GI filing fees by 80%.
• The renewal fee fell from ₹3,000 to ₹500.
• The framework became operational in 2003, and registrations began in 2004-05.

GI categories and leading states (as of December 2025)

• Handicrafts: 445 products and 27 logos, such as Pashmina, Baluchari Saree and Banaras Gulabi Meenakari Craft.
• Agricultural: 251 products.
• Manufactured: 64, such as Nashik Valley Wine and Kannauj Perfume.
• Food: 66, such as Bardhaman Mihidana, Kendrapara Rasabali and Tirupathi Laddu.
• Natural: 5, namely Makrana Marble, Chunar Balua Patthar, Lac of Purulia, Panna Diamond and Ambaji White Marble.
• Uttar Pradesh leads with 81 GI-tagged products, then Tamil Nadu (76) and Maharashtra (55).

What cannot be registered, and revocation

• Generic names no longer protected in their country of origin.
• Indications that mislead consumers or falsely suggest a different origin.
• Indications that offend religious sentiments or contain scandalous or obscene matter.
• Under Section 27, a GI may be cancelled if obtained by fraud, no longer protected at origin, fallen into disuse, or likely to deceive.

One District One Product (PIB, 24 July 2026)

• As of that date, 1,244 products have been identified across 773 districts under ODOP.
• DPIIT runs ODOP, and State/UT governments select the products.
• Support includes exhibitions, capacity building and GeM-ODOP Bazaar onboarding.
• PM Ekta Malls get up to ₹200 crore per State/UT through 50-year interest-free loans under SASCI.
• PMFME gives 35% credit-linked subsidy up to ₹10 lakh and 50% grant for common branding.