GI products to be sold at airports? Suresh Prabhu wants policy prepared

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday directed officials to prepare a policy to set up stalls of GI products at all the airports of the country.

The move will help promote these products in the country.

A Geographical Indication (GI) is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.

Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.

In a meeting with senior officials here, he also suggested displaying GI products from all over India at all international airports of the country.

The minister, who also holds the civil aviation portfolio, "directed officials to prepare a policy for establishing GI stalls at all airports of India," the ministry said in a statement.

Reviewing the agriculture sector of the Konkan region, the minister directed officials to run campaigns on Geographical Indicators (GIs) so as to increase awareness about the benefits of this tag for the produce of this region.

It is a legal right under which the GI holder can prohibit others from using the same name.

The famous items which carry this tag include Basmati rice, Darjeeling Tea, Chanderi Fabric, Mysore Silk, Kullu Shawl, Kangra Tea, Thanjavur Paintings, Allahabad Surkha, Farrukhabad Prints, Lucknow Zardozi and Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving.

Plans to develop GI Tourism Circuits, including the circuit covering Mahabaleshwar-Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Nasik, were also discussed.

To boost tourism, Prabhu asked Airports Authority of India (AAI) to operationalise Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri Airport on priority basis.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Department of Commerce, Civil Aviation, APEDA, MPEDA, Spice and Rubber boards and officers from the Konkan region.