Patna: The famous Madhubani painting of Bihar is now an exclusive brand as it has been registered under the provisions of Global Indications (GI) Act for patenting.
"The Madhubani painting of Bihar is the first item to be registered under the GI Act for patenting," said the representative of United National Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Abhijit Das, on Saturday.
For ages, rural people, mostly women, of Mithila in Bihar have developed their own tradition of art, popularly known as Madhubani paintings and named after Madhubani district. This painting tradition dates back to the seventh century AD.
Traditionally, Madhubani paintings were made on the eve of certain rituals and ceremonies such as puja (prayers), vrata (fasts) or weddings. But in the last few decades, Madhubani paintings have been popularised the world over by master painters.
Das said after Madhubani paintings, the famous Shahi litchi of Muzzaffarpur could become an exclusive brand of Bihar soon. "The process is underway for GI registration of Shahi litchi too," he said.
Bihar is also aiming to register tassar silk and aromatic Katarni rice of Bhagalpur under the provisions of GI Act for patenting.
"Once the Bihar government gets exclusive right to the brand name Shahi litchi, no one else will be able to use it to market the fruit in India or abroad. Buyers anywhere would know that a litchi, with this brand name, has to be one of the famous litchis of Muzzaffarpur," said Das.
The horticulture department officials have prepared documents under the Geographical Indications clause of International Property Rights laws to prove their case that the Shahi litchi is unique and it grows only in Muzzaffarpur.
They expect the registration of the brand name will benefit farmers, who will gain access to more markets and get better prices.
About 70 per cent of all litchis produced in India are grown in Bihar. The number of farmers in the state growing litchis has increased in the last decade, especially in Muzzaffarpur district.
But in a recent report, the World Bank noted that litchis were being grown in only about 10 percent of the 2,000-odd orchards in Muzzaffarpur.
Countries that import litchis from India are the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Canada, Russia and Yemen.
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