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India: Geographical Indication Registration Tag on Uttarakhand’s Tejpatta

On 31 May, 2016, Uttarakhand was granted the Geographical Indication Certificate for its famous sweet bay leaf, famously known as Tejpatta. The present GI Certificate was given by Geographical Indication Registry, Chennai. Tejpatta (more famously known as ‘Cinnamomum Tamala” in the west) is a famous spice which is used in many Hilly cuisines and is also transported to various parts of the country. This crop is also known for its medical properties.

Tejpatta is extensively grown in many parts of Uttarakhand, including Nainital, Chamoli, Tehri, Bageshwar, Almora, Pithoragarh, and Champawat. Over Thousand metric tons of Tejpatta is grown in the state of Uttarakahand.

With the help from United Nations Development Program (UNDP) - Global Environment facility, Herbal Research and Development Institute, a nodal agency of Uttarakhand Medicinal Plant Board, has applied for the Registration of GI. Some other Crops in Uttarakhand are also identified for GI Registration.

Uttarakhand has also obtained a GI Registration of Basmati Rice. Uttarakhand shares this GI Tag, on Basmati Rice, with the state of Utter Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, New Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. The details of Uttarakhand’s GI Tags are;

Sl. No.	Application No.	GI (Geographical Indication)	Goods Type	State
1.	145	Basmati	Agricultural	The entire states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
2.	520	Uttarakhand Tejpatta	Agricultural	Uttarakhand

As per experts, obtaining a GI Tag on Tejpatta, will be beneficial for over 10, 000 farmers involved in its production, as a price hike of 85- 140 INR is expected, in the near future. Government has also proposed a new scheme for increasing its production. Under this scheme, tejpatta will be cultivated in an additional area of 500 hectares in Uttarakhand.