Context:

• Bihar’s Shahi litchi has received the geographical indication tag, the director of the National Research Centre on Litchi confirmed to IANS.
• The fruit is mostly grown in Muzaffarpur and its neighbouring districts of East Champaran, Vaishali, Samastipur and Begusarai.

More details:

• The tag, awarded by the India Patent Office, allows a state or a geographical region to lay an exclusive claim over a product, gives an assurance of quality, and is often used as a reason to increase product rates.
• A few other products with a geographical indication tag are Darjeeling tea, Mahabaleshwar strawberry, Jaipur blue pottery, Banarasi sarees and Tirupati laddus.
• The tag will improve demand for the fruit and reduce the fear of fake and poor quality litchis, said Nath.
• The GI tag for the fruit will help and benefit thousands of litchi growers who will gain access to more markets and get better price in the country and abroad.
• The registration was done in the name of the Muzaffarpur-based Litchi Growers Association of Bihar, which had applied for the tag.
• The state produces 40% of the litchis grown in India on 38% of the area.

Source: TOI