Basmati is a generic name for rice, not a traditional crop of India – this is what the US courts told India when it recently fought against a US-based company’s patent over three varieties of rice derived from traditional basmati.

One reason why India couldn’t prove otherwise was that a scientific definition of basmati remains elusive, despite numerous measures of its quality.

Furthermore, there has been a lack of political will in India in seeking a geographical appellation for basmati, which would make it easier to prevent companies selling their own derived lines of rice as basmati.

Source: Down to Earth

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