Following the approval from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the world-renowned "Basohli" painting from the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, said Union Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh.

The first independently GI-tagged product from the Jammu region is a Basohli painting from the Kathua district. The GI tag can now only be used by an authorized user in relation to these products.

A type of intellectual property right known as a "geographic indication" (GI) is used to identify goods that are unique in nature, quality, and other characteristics due to their origin in a specific area.

"The process for GI-tagging of nine products was initiated by NABARD in consultation with the Department of Handicrafts and Handloom (J&K) in December 2020. The GI tags have now finally been granted to these products after a long legal process," an official spokesman said as quoted by news agency PTI.

Other products that were pitched for GI-tagging included Basohli paintings, Basohli woolen products (Kathua), Chikri woodcraft (Rajouri), Bhaderwah rajma (Doda), Mushkbudji rice (Anantnag), Kaladi (Udhampur), Sulai honey (Ramban), Anardana (Ramban), and Ladakh wood carving (Ladakh).

On March 31, these products from Jammu and Kashmir were among 33 others that were cleared for GI-tagging, the most in a single year.

Additionally, the Banarasi Paan, Langda Mango, Ramnagar Bhanta (Brinjal), and Adamchini Rice are four Varanasi-based goods that have gained the GI tag, according to Padma Awardee GI expert Dr. Rajinikant.

Image courtesy: ANI