Manipur Black Rice ‘CHA KHAO' Gets GI Tag

The pride and joy of every country is its locally grown produce, an intricate part of its culture and heritage dutifully grown for generations. India's vast expanse of fertile land imbeds rare agricultural gems, globally famous for their delectability and diversity such as its Darjeeling tea, Malabar pepper, Malabar Arabica coffee, Dusseheri mango, Nashik grapes, Nagpur oranges to name a few¹. Joining the list of India's famous agricultural produce to obtain a Geographical Indication (GI) is the Manipur's famous black scented rice (GI Reg. No. 602), locally known as Cha-Khao (Oryza sativa L.), a delicacy served during communal feasts and ceremonies². Cha-Khao black rice constitutes mainly 10% of Manipur's total rice production. The application for registration as a GI was filed in respect of goods under Class 30 by the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERMAC), an organisation responsible for registration and supervision of Geographical