Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has set a target of reaching 10,000 Geographical Indication (GI) Tags by 2030. Addressing a GI Samagam in New Delhi, Mr Goyal said that this target will be achieved through a whole-of-government approach, and the government will constitute a committee to oversee this. He informed me that the number of GI tags issued by the department to date stands at 605. The Minister highlighted the efforts of the government under Prime Minister 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 29 thousand and the number of patents granted increased from 6000 to one lakh, in the last 10 years. Stressing the idea of ‘Vikas bhi aur Virasat bhi’ given by the Prime Minister, Mr. Goyal highlighted the constant efforts of the Prime Minister including mentioning various products in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio program.

Speaking on the efforts of the government to strengthen the IPR ecosystem, the Minister mentioned the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Fund and One District One Product (ODOP) scheme. He also stressed the need for better branding of GI products. He mentioned the need for collaboration with FSSAI and BIS to ensure better quality standards. The event was organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).