The tur dal produced in the Tandur region of Telangana (Tandur Redgram) recently acquired the coveted GI or Geographical Indications tag of India. GI tags are a sign of authentic sourcing of the product from its famous region and an indication of quality. For example, the “gamcha” made in Assam got a GI tag, and as per a media report, the whole state went into a state of jubilation. It is not clear if they went around dancing in a gamcha.
The tuar dal achievement happened due to Telangana State Agriculture University in partnership with a private firm to allow Tandur tur dal seeds as well as other grains to be traced on blockchain. The journey of the original and authentic seeds was made traceable in ledger records of the blockchain, and a QR code integration was done for easy checking. In Telangana, blockchain is being used to track and trace the origins of several food products.
The private firm associated with this achievement is Hyderabad based TrayamBhu Tech Solutions, which thinks that blockchain is a natural gift for GIs.
Consumers who are buying Tandur dal can thus get the assurance that it is the original tur dal and not a counterfeit or part of some fake scheme.
The tuar dal of Telangana is among several such famous products that use blockchain to authenticate their source or origin. There are a total of 432 GI tagged products in India under the GI scheme for which there is a separate earmarked budget from the center.
The GI tag application was filed by Yalal Farmers Producers Company. There are over 60,000 families engaged in the production of Tandur tual dal in Telangana. The unique quality of this tuar dal is supposed to be due to rich black soil and limestone.
Telangana, where the tech hub of Hyderabad is located, has shown great interest in supporting blockchain ventures and solutions. It has set up in collaboration with private and educational institutions the Telangana Blockchain District, the T-Block Accelerator, and its second edition last year, the India Blockchain Accelerator. It has also recently set up a regulatory sandbox for testing blockchain solutions.
Sources:
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1883513
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