Regional Products and Rural Livelihoods : A Study on Geographical Indications from India

The book explores through case studies the registration and use of Geographical Indications in the realm of trade in crafts and textiles sector. The book highlights the necessity of involving stakeholders along the value chain to institutionalize reputation of the products as specific to the geographic region and thereby quality adherence. The book underscores the importance of collective organizations in this institutionalizing process to better livelihoods of artisans as well as to address consumers'' demand for quality.

Labeling products with emphasis on origin has been a long tradition in the realm of trade to convey the quality of the product. With entry into the WTO, India which has a long tradition of origin labeling across various agricultural, crafts and textile products, brought in a legal framework to legally recognize Geographical Indications (GIs) in accordance with the TRIPS agreement. This book, through select case studies of textiles and crafts in South India, looks at the registration and use of GIs within the legal framework. The book explores the process of registration of GI, involvement of stakeholders in the valorization of the reputation and the challenges in governance for institutionalizing and implementing the legal framework to improve the livelihoods of the producers of such products. The book highlights the need for collective action among the stakeholders along the value chain to realize the economic gains from such use of GI (with the emphasis on the inextricable link between geography and quality) and resultant outcomes such as improved livelihoods for producers and authentic products for the consumers who are willing to pay a higher price for quality and authenticity.