GI TAG - GEOGRAPHY
News: Andaman and Nicobar seeks GI tag for nicobar hodi boat
What is in the news?
●
The Geographical
Indications Registry at Guindy, Chennai, has received an application from the
Tribal Development Council, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, seeking the
Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Nicobari
hodi boat.
● This is the first application from the Union Territory seeking a tag for one of its products.
About Hodi Boat:
●
The hodi boat is the Nicobari tribe’s traditional craft.
●
It is an outrigger canoe,
very commonly operated in the Nicobar group of islands.
●
The technical skills for
building a hodi are based on indigenous knowledge inherited by the
nicobarese from their forefathers.
●
The hodiis built using
either locally available trees or from nearby islands, and its design varies
slightly from island to island.
●
A 60 to 80 year old tree
with a straight trunk or one having a slight incline to one side is preferred.
●
Hodis are used for
transporting people and goods from one island to another, sending coconuts,
fishing and racing purposes.
● The tuhet, a group of families under a headman, consider the hodi an asset. Hodi Races are held between islands and villages.
About GI tag:
●
Geographical Indication
(GI) is an indication used to identify goods having special characteristics originating from a definite geographical
territory.
●
The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act,
1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of
geographical indications relating to goods in India.
● It is governed and directed by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
Products:
●
Agriculture products
●
Handicraft products
● Industrial goods
Validity:
●
10 years.
● It can be renewed.
GI registration:
●
There is a proper process
of registration of GI products which includes filing of application,
preliminary scrutiny and examination, show cause notice, publication in the
geographical indications journal, opposition to registration, and registration.
●
Any association of
persons, producers, organization or authority established by or under the law
can apply.
●
The applicant must
represent the interest of the producers.
●
The first product in India to be accorded with GI tag was Darjeeling tea in the year 2004-05.