The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) have signed a GI products MoU to accelerate the commercialisation, quality standardisation and market penetration of India’s Geographical Indication goods. The agreement was signed on August 5 at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi and reported today, aiming to turn regionally protected crafts and produce into scalable, export-ready businesses that reach both domestic and international buyers.
The MoU was signed by Md. Salik Parwaiz, Director at the Ministry of MSME, and Karan Thapar, Director of the IPR Division at DPIIT, in the presence of senior officials from both organisations. DPIIT is India’s nodal department for registering and legally protecting Geographical Indications under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, while the MSME Ministry is the nodal ministry for the growth, financial health and development of micro, small and medium enterprises, traditional industries and artisans nationwide. Officials from both sides said the agreement was designed to bridge the gap between legal GI registration and actual commercial outcomes for producers.
How Will the GI Products MoU Help Exporters and Artisans?
Under the framework, DPIIT and the MSME Ministry will jointly facilitate the onboarding of GI collectives and authorised users onto the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) under a dedicated “Bharat GI” banner. The two agencies will also co-sponsor dedicated GI Pavilions at national and international trade expos, buyer-seller meets and exhibitions to widen domestic and global marketing of GI-tagged products. Officials said the goal is to help artisans, weavers and producers move beyond local sales into premium domestic and export markets by combining DPIIT’s legal-protection mandate with the MSME Ministry’s enterprise-development infrastructure, capacity-building programmes and financial support schemes for small producers.
What Does This Mean for India’s One District One Product Push?
Both ministries have agreed to integrate the government’s One District One Product (ODOP) initiative into their programme design and interventions, aligning GI protection with regional economic development goals. The partnership is meant to strengthen the ODOP ecosystem by channelling capacity-building, digital enablement and market-access support toward the same GI collectives and clusters that ODOP already identifies as priority regional products, creating a more coordinated push for indigenous goods to reach both e-commerce platforms and international buyers. This dual-track approach means a GI-tagged product can now draw on both its legal protection and its ODOP branding for market visibility.
Market and Trade Reaction
While the MoU itself does not carry an immediate financial figure, its structural significance lies in linking two large government platforms, ONDC and GeM, directly to India’s GI ecosystem for the first time under a single “Bharat GI” identity. Industry watchers see the dedicated GI Pavilions at trade expos and buyer-seller meets as a concrete channel for export discovery, since GI-tagged goods such as regional handicrafts, textiles and food products have historically struggled with fragmented market access despite legal protection. The collaboration signals a shift from GI registration as a purely legal exercise toward GI status as a commercial export lever, a distinction trade bodies have flagged for years as a missing link in India’s GI strategy.
What Happens Next?
DPIIT and the MSME Ministry are expected to begin onboarding GI collectives and authorised users onto ONDC and GeM in phases under the Bharat GI banner, alongside planning for GI Pavilions at upcoming domestic and international trade fairs. Both departments have committed to joint capacity-building and digital-enablement programmes for artisans and producers as the next implementation step, with progress likely to be reviewed as the ODOP integration deepens across ministries and more GI collectives are formally brought onto the two digital platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new GI products MoU between DPIIT and MSME about?
It is an August 5 agreement between DPIIT and the Ministry of MSME to accelerate commercialisation, quality standardisation and market penetration of India’s Geographical Indication products, signed by Md. Salik Parwaiz and Karan Thapar.
How will GI collectives access ONDC and GeM under this deal?
DPIIT and the MSME Ministry will jointly facilitate onboarding of GI collectives and authorised users onto the Open Network for Digital Commerce and the Government e-Marketplace under a dedicated “Bharat GI” banner.
Which government initiative does the GI products MoU support?
The partnership supports India’s One District One Product (ODOP) initiative by integrating it into both ministries’ programme design, strengthening regional GI clusters through coordinated capacity-building and market-access efforts.
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