India is home to more than a lakh of paddy accessions, however as per the date revealed by the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources in June 2025 only 31 rice varieties including Basmati Rice have obtained Geographical indications (GI) tag. GI Tag provides collective yet monopoly rights to farmers belonging to a specific region who have put their efforts to nurture the cultivation of the paddy over a period of time.
The uniqueness of a crop can be attributed to agro-climatic conditions, and methods of production that involves human skill, through traditional knowledge linked with cultivation. Non-basmati GI rice activities are spread across 16 states across the nation that includes- Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands; one jointly from Manipur and Nagaland; two each in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar; three each in Maharashtra and Assam; four in West Bengal and six in Kerala; covering 116 districts as per the GI application information. Twenty-four among these varieties are aromatic.
Initiatives to Promote GI Tagged Non-Basmati Rice
Indian government has launched several programs and initiatives to promote GI-Tagged products. One such initiative was the introduction of national GI tag logo that comes with the tagline of ‘Atulya Bharat Ki Amulya Nidhi’ (Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India) in 2018. The introduction of the taglines was an important step to strengthen the link between the producers and consumers of the products.
‘One District One product’ programme that includes several rice varieties as well including Palakkadan Matta (Palakkad, Kerala), Katarni (Banka, Bihar), Chinnor (Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh), Tulaipanji (Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal) and Kalanamak (Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh). Since these rice varieties have received GI Tagged and have been included in One District One Programme, they have acquired the much-needed attention. Kalanamak rice has benefited the maximum from this programme. The production of Kalanamak rose from 2,000 hectares in 2018 to 18,000 in 2025, owing to an amalgamation of modern science and traditional knowledge, with farmers, scientists, officials working in tandem.