Odisha wins Geographical Indication tag for 'Odisha rasagola' in bittersweet battle against West Bengal

For years, Odisha and West Bengal have bickered over where the sweet dish rasagola originated from. Last year, West Bengal walked away victorious with the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the ‘rasgullas’. However, the Odisha government filed a petition and have now won the rights over the ownership of ‘Odisha rasagola’.

The Odisha Small Industries Corporation Limited (OSIC) and Utkala Mistanna Byabasayee Samiti (Utkala Sweetmakers Business Body) will be registered holder or proprietors of Odisha rasagola’s GI tag as per the certificate from the Geographical Indication Registry, Government of India.

As per The Indian Express, along with the tag, the delicacy will now share space with Class 30 of GI tagged products that includes items such as coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca, sago, artificial coffee, flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry and confectionery besides ice, honey, treacle, yeast, baking powder, salt, mustard, vinegar, sauces and spices.

As defined by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, "A geographical indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin."

Essentially, the GI tag provides an assurance of quality and uniqueness, which are attributable to the place of its origin.

This agricultural, natural or a manufactured cultural product is awarded a tag by experts to protect manufacturers who produce these genuine products. They also get a premium pricing for the same in the domestic and international markets thanks to the tag.

The tussle between the states escalated in June 2015 after Odisha's science and technology minister Pradip Kumar Panigrahi set up committees to trace the origin of the dish. The government had even taken a step further to declare 30 July as 'Rasagolla Dibasa' to celebrate its origin.