NGO files application for GI tag to be granted to Gaumukh Gangajal

Gaumukh Gangajal is collected in Gaumukh, situated at a height of 13,200 feet in the Himalayas. (Representative image)

An Indian non-government organisation (NGO) has filed an application for a GI tag to be given to Gaumukh Gangajal, Ganga water collected at the point of origin of the river in the Gangotri glacier.

If Gaumukh Gangajal is granted a GI or geographical indication tag,  no company or individual would be able to market any water, even if it is gangajal, as Gaumukh Gangajal. 

Great Mission Group Society (GMGS), a Maharashtra-based NGO, has filed an application with the GI registry in Chennai for a GI tag to be given to Gaumukh Gangajal, which is collected in Gaumukh, situated at a height of 13,200 feet in the Himalayas.

If the application is accepted and the GI tag is granted, it will provide legal protection to Gaumukh Gangajal against unauthorised use of the name by others, and would also help in promoting its exports.

It is a lengthy process to get approval for a GI tagging application.

Ganesh Hingmire, founder and chairman of GMGS, claimed that scientific research has proved that the Gaumukh Gangajal is unique in terms of its medicinal properties, and presence of healthy living organisms.

Scientific research and studies have proved the uniqueness of the water, said Hingmire, who is in Geneva to attend a meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Globally, there are rivers protected by a GI tag and they include the Margaret and Hastings rivers of Australia, he said.

“We are announcing the information here because we want to tell the WTO that India always supports WTO and rule-based trade norms and the GI law in India was enacted on the lines of WTO’s TRIPS agreement. There is also a need to market the importance of Gaumukh Gangajal at this large global platform,” he said.

TRIPS is short for Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

According to the official website of Intellectual Property India, the application was filed by the Maharastra-based society on May 2, 2022 under the natural goods category.

Hingmire said that the world should know the importance of gangajal and its unique properties and GI tagging will help in providing it international recognition.

A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.

Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.

There is a proper process for registration of GI products which includes filing of an application, preliminary scrutiny and examination, show cause notice, publication in the geographical indications journal, and an opportunity for expression of opposition to registration.

Any association of persons, producers, or authority established by or under the law can apply. The applicant must represent the interest of the producers.

It is a legal right under which the GI holder can prohibit others from using the same name.

Famous Indian goods which carry the tag include Basmati rice, Darjeeling tea, Chanderi fabric, Mysore silk, Kullu shawl, Kangra tea, Thanjavur paintings, Allahabad surkha, Farrukhabad prints, Lucknow zardozi and Kashmir walnut wood carving.

Under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, geographical indications are covered as an element of intellectual property rights (IPRs).

They are also covered under the WTO’s TRIPS agreement.