Both the associations have sought protection of India’s Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Basmati and its international reputation. | Photo Courtesy: Sahiba Chaudhary
Two rice exporters associations have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Affairs and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah to set up a dedicated statutory Basmati Rice Board and separate it from the control of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
Both the associations have sought protection of India’s Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Basmati and its international reputation.
In a letter to Modi, the Punjab Rice Millers Exporters Association (PRMEA) said Basmati should be delinked from APEDA as it “lacks agronomy, GI regulation, research mandate, enforcement authority and transparency mechanism”.
shortcomings
“APEDA lacks the mandate, manpower and enforcement authority to maintain these standards at the national level,” said Ashok Sethi, director of PRMEA.
All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) demanded bringing Basmati rice under the purview of the Agriculture Ministry. AIREA general secretary Ajay Bhalotia, in a letter to Shah, said, “…it is extremely important to ensure that its development starts at the farm level and is sustained in the long run.”
Justifying its demand, AIREA said the Basmati Rice Board will protect India’s GI identity and international reputation, promote good agricultural practices, enable low-pesticide and safe production, and promote climate-resilient, sustainable farming. It will stabilize and increase farmers’ income, improve coordination between producers, research institutes and state governments and strengthen the global brand image of long grain rice.
protection of gi tag
According to traders, the request from the Prime Minister and the Cooperation Minister to set up a separate board for Basmati is seen as an attempt to wrest control from APEDA, which currently oversees Basmati exports and manages the Basmati Export Development Foundation.
Both organizations are concerned about the safety of the GI tag of Basmati rice. Recently Australia, New Zealand and Kenya refused to give GI tag to Indian Basmati rice. On the other hand, the EU is dragging its feet despite India filing an application for the GI tag in July 2018.
PRMEA said APEDA has been designed as a comprehensive export promotion body, responsible for hundreds of diverse agricultural products across multiple export markets, trade facilitation mechanisms, promotional programmes, infrastructure schemes and quality certification protocols.
“Due to this broad mandate, APEDA is not structurally capable of providing the single-minded focus, scientific depth, legal capacity and field-level presence required for a GI-sensitive commodity like Basmati,” Sethi said.
technical challenges
The Punjab Rice Millers Association said basmati, being a sensitive GI product, could implement a seed certification system, genetic purity protocols, a DNA profile database and buffer zone guidelines.
“APEDA lacks the mandate, manpower and enforcement authority to maintain these standards at the national level,” Sethi said.
AIREA said an agro-centric, scientific and long-term approach to Basmati rice is required. Therefore, it urged the formation of a dedicated statutory Basmati Rice Board, bringing aromatic rice under the Ministry of Agriculture and effectively implementing ICAR’s research at the farm level.
PMREA said the Basmati challenges are technical and regulatory, not just export promotion. “There is a need for a dedicated board – a statutory, scientific and transparent institution,” Sethi said.
PMREA Director said that the Commerce Ministry should establish Basmati Board on priority basis.
The export bodies’ plea is based on the fact that India exports 6 million tonnes of Basmati rice annually, worth ₹55,000 crore, to more than 100 countries.
Published on February 22, 2026
