The Basmati question

Delhi HC does well to allow MP farmers to produce it

By quashing the Centre’s orders, which confined the cultivation and seed production of Basmati to seven northern states, the Delhi High Court has essentially upheld Madhya Pradesh’s contention that its farmers can continue to produce this premium-quality aromatic rice as they have been doing for decades. The court’s verdict is based chiefly on the technicalities that the Centre’s directives were in contravention of the Seeds Act and that they encroached upon the domain of the state governments, as agriculture is a state subject. This decree, therefore, cannot be construed to automatically grant the geographical indications (GI) status to Madhya Pradesh’s