The Tirupathi laddu, sold as prasadam of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala, will soon have a geographical indication mark protecting its unique identity from counterfeiters.
Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam applies for global recognition for famous prasadam
If all goes well the world famous Tirupathi laddu, sold as prasadam of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala, will soon have a geographical indication mark protecting its unique identity from counterfeiters.
The move which has been in the making for quite some time now took a step forward with the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) making a formal application to the Chennai based Directorate of Geographical Indications recently, an official familiar with the process said.
The Tirupathi laddu is so famous and sought after that instances of its black marketing are common as also instances of counterfeit laddus being sold. The Sri Venkateswara Nitya Laddu Danam Scheme, where pilgrims are given one 25 grams laddu free of cost, was started in 1981. This apart any extra laddus have to be bought at a price.
An estimated 1.50 lakh laddus, made of besan, sugar, oil, cardamom and dry fruits, are reportedly prepared everyday. In fact a crane is said to be used to lift the ingredients into the sacred kitchen. The application if cleared by a national level committee of experts will follow similar protection and recognition accorded to a host of uniquely Indian products like the Bikaner Bhujia, Agra Petha, Kolhapuri Chappals and Basmati rice.
One of the pre-requisites to qualify for a GI is that a product should be of the finest quality, distinctive in its character and should be made repetitively from a particular region. The Tirupathi Laddu meets all these criteria something which million of devotees of Lord Venkateshwara will vouch for. V Natarajan, assistant registrar of GI, confirmed the TTD had indeed made an application and that it would be taken up soon. However, the committee to accord the permission was yet to be formed. Though the GI of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act was passed in 1999, the GI Registry was formed only in 2000 for the implementation of the Act.
Lamenting the lack of awareness of the act in the industry, Natarajan observed that though the Act and the registry was in place since 2000 only 126 applications have been received so far of which 67 have been granted to date. According to an official close to the process granting a GI takes up to 18 months from the time of application after a rigorous review.
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