Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal set a target of reaching 10,000 Geographical Indication (GI) Tags by 2030, at the GI Samagam today in New Delhi, organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and India Today Group. This target will be achieved through a whole of government approach, and the government will constitute a committee to oversee this, added the Minister. The number of GI tags issued by the department till date stands at 605.

Shri Goyal highlighted the efforts of the government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to give a thrust to the Intellectual Property Ecosystem (IPR) ecosystem. The number of authorized users for GI tags increased from 365 to 29000 and the number of patents granted increased from 6000 to 100000, in the last 10 years. Stressing on the idea of ‘Vikas bhi aur Virasat bhi’ given by the Prime Minister, Shri Goyal highlighted the constant efforts of the Prime Minister including mentioning of various products in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme.

Speaking on the efforts of the government to strengthen the IPR ecosystem, Shri Goyal highlighted the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Fund and One District One Product (ODOP) scheme. Shri Goyal also lauded the efforts of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra state governments in promoting GI products. The Government also increased the manpower strength of the department and the whole process has been made online in a time-bound manner, added the Minister.

Shri Goyal stressed on the need for better branding of GI products. He mentioned the need for collaboration with FSSAI and BIS for ensuring better quality standards. This will also help to address the issue of counterfeit products, he added.

While speaking about promotion and marketing efforts, the Minister talked about the potential collaboration with private sector and government organisations like railways, airports. Shri Goyal suggested the possibility of having GI tagged products listed on GeM platform, ONDC portal and even e-commerce platforms. E-commerce platforms are increasingly looking at Indian handloom, handicrafts, speciality food products etc, added the Minister. Shri Goyal also pointed out that GI products can be showcased by Indian embassies abroad, similar to ODOP products and can unlock the export potential for this sector.

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Geographical indication expansion via whole-of-government oversight to strengthen registrations, quality standards and market access. A national initiative proposes rapid expansion of the Geographical Indication regime via a whole-of-government approach and an oversight committee, backed by administrative reforms such as increased manpower and online processing to accelerate registrations and authorized-user growth. The policy links GI expansion to broader intellectual property and district-product promotion schemes, and prioritises quality assurance through standards collaboration, anti-counterfeiting measures, and enhanced market access via public procurement, digital marketplaces and export promotion.