PM expresses happiness over GI Tag for Ladakh's Wood Carving

New Delhi [India], April 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed happiness about the Geographical Indication Tag for Ladakh's Wood Carving, a first of its kind, said a press release by Prime Minister's Office.

Replying to the tweet by a Member of Parliament from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the Prime Minister said; "This will make Ladakh's cultural traditions even more popular and benefit artisans."

Namgyal on Tuesday tweeted, "Greetings to the people of Ladakh for getting GI Tag to Ladakh's Wood Carving, a first of its kind. It will surely promote the handicraft culture of the artisans as well as the local economy of the artisans of Ladakh globally. Congratulations!!!!"

Meanwhile, on Monday, the world-famous 'Basohli Painting' from Kathua district obtained the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag following approval by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Jammu.

This is the first time in the history of GI registration that the Jammu region got a GI tag for handicrafts.

According to an official release, the process for GI tagging of nine products of the Jammu region products was initiated by NABARD in consultation with the Department of Handicrafts and Handloom in December 2020, during the difficult times of COVID. The GI tags have now finally been granted to these products after a long legal process.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, congratulated the country on getting 33 GI tags, the highest ever in a single year, by tweeting through his official Twitter handle. The products from UT of Jammu and Kashmir have been included in the list of 33 products that received the GI tag on March 31, 2023.

Pertinently, Geographical Indications (GI) is a form of Intellectual Property right that identifies goods originating from a specific geographical location and having distinct nature, quality and characteristics linked to that location.

According to the official release, the Basohli painting of Kathua district is the first independent GI-tagged product from the Jammu region. Now, only an authorized user has the exclusive right to use the Geographical Indication in relation to these products. Due to this, no person can copy it from beyond their geographical areas.

This will prevent unauthorized use of these registered Geographical Indication goods by third parties besides will boost exports and promote their brands at the international level, thereby promoting the economic prosperity of producers and related stakeholders including contribution to the GDP of the country.

Ajay Kumar Sood, Chief General Manager, NABARD, thanked the concerned departments of the UT government, all the GI applicant orgzations and especially the skilled leadership of the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha.

He further informed that post-GI development projects will now be taken up for the product for training and capacity building, brand building and improving marketability.

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