Stalls of GI products will be set up at all 103 airports: Prabhu

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Tuesday said in the coming days, stalls of GI products, such as Darjeeling Tea, will be set up at all the 103 airports 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.

The famous items that 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.

"At Goa airport, it has already been set up. All airports will have GI product stalls in the coming days," Prabhu said here at an event of Government eMarketplace (GeM), an online platform for public procurement.

The minister also launched SWAYATT, an initiative to promote start-ups, women and youth advantage through e-transactions on GeM.

He also dedicated GeM Start-up Runway, an initiative of GeM to provide access to the public procurement market and sell innovative products and services to government buyers.

Start-up Runway will enable them to conduct market trials with government buyers, seek time-bound feedback and gain realistic product, price comparison and market valuation from potential buyers and investors.

About 1,516 start-ups are currently registered on GeM with 12,915 products to offer and have received more than 5,000 orders till date.

GeM, an online market place for procurement of common use goods and services by government ministries, departments and CPSEs, was set up in 2016 and has 8,01,956 products and 5,197 services, with 1,99,654 registered sellers, service providers and 33,536 government buyers.

Since inception, it has processed 13,86,030 orders worth Rs 19,214 crore in gross merchandise value.