With 39 products marked with the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, Karnataka is known as the GI capital of India. Getting products marked with this tag is only half the battle. Marketing these products so that the craftsmen get the recognition and price they deserve is another battle in itself. To make that process easier, an organization known as the Geographical Indications Tagged World Premium Products Pvt Ltd. (GI Tagged or GITWPL) has set up a unique GI Tagged store in Bangalore.
Quick Facts About – GI Tagged In Bangalore
- Address: #12, 13th Cross Rd, 6th Sector, HSR Layout, Bengaluru- 560102 (MAP)
- Hours: 10 AM to 8.30 PM
- Phone: +91 76762 01111
- Email: info@gitagged.com
- Website: www.gitagged.com
What Makes GI Tagged In Bangalore Unique?
The GI Tagged store in Bangalore is located very close to the Bengaluru HSR Flyover. The store also has a website through which people across India can buy the same products as available in the store. The store sells a number of Indian handicrafts, spices and fruits but only those that have been marked with the GI tag.
This makes it one of the most unique stores not only in India but across the world. At present, the store offers about 40 different GI tagged products.
This includes Bhut Jolokia, Malabar Black Pepper, Bidri work, Channapatna wooden handicrafts, Bastar art and Villianur Terracotta. If all goes according to plans, another 10 products may be added by the end of May.
Each product is sold in the name of the craftsmen involved and is listed with its exact price. This helps the artisans receive recognition for their work and provides transparency.
It also helps foster a positive competitive spirit. The pricing of each product mentions the price margin of each product including the regional development fund contribution and profit-sharing ratio.
What Is Geographical Indication?
Geographical Indication is a status given to certain products to ensure that they cannot be reproduced by people in places other than where they originate from. For this, the product should possess qualities that are characteristic of that area.
For example, pepper can be grown in any part of India and the world but the pepper grown in the Malabar region has a special taste because of the soil it is grown in and the weather conditions of the area. This pepper is GI tagged as Malabar Black Pepper. Because of this, pepper producers from other parts of India cannot market their products as Malabar black pepper.
The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 came into effect in India in September 2003. This act enforces the GI tag. There are currently over 300 products that have been GI tagged in India. A majority of these products are manufactured or produced in the rural sectors of our country.
The Geographical Indications Tagged World Premium Products Pvt Ltd – The GI Tagged Store in Bengaluru
The Geographical Indications Tagged World Premium Products Pvt Ltd or GI Taggedwas incorporated on February 2016 as an Indian Non-Government Company. The aim of establishing this company was to harness the potential benefits of the GI Act of India.
The company also aims at increasing awareness about GI. This is being aided by the central government’s #LetsTalkIP campaign. The company has a system of GI panchayats.
The staff for these panchayats was hired through the Geographical Indicators Administrative Service exams. This exam is the brainchild of a former civil service aspirant, Tejas and is similar to the civil services exam.
This banner brings together farmers and manufacturers associated with GI products in an area. On noticing the price inflation caused by middlemen, the GI Tagged store was set up.
The aim of setting up this store was to negate the need for middlemen. In this way, the company hopes to help the farmers, artisans and rural manufacturers of these products reap the socio-economic benefits they deserve.
There are a number of challenges faced by the GITWPL. One of the biggest challenges amongst these is persuading artisans to come back to their handicrafts.
Due to the lack of opportunities and rising costs, a number of artisans had shifted from their specialty to other professions. Of all the products sourced for the store, the ones from Bastar were particularly hard to find.