Cultivation expansion may draw ire

The large-scale farming in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh of Pusa 1121, the latest entrant on the list of basmati varieties, may case more resentment in rival Pakistan, which has already opposed India’s change in basmati definition.

Both the countries have decided to meet early next year, possibly by February, to sort out the definition of basmati for joint registration under Geographical Indication (GI), industry sources said. The sharp differences between both the sides came to the fore when they met in Islamabad early this month to sort out issues relating to the change in the definition of basmati by India, they said.

Any commodity or goods, if registered under GI, helps in marketing because they cannot be produced anywhere other than the specified geographical location.