Stone art of Gaya district got GI tag

• 20 Feb 2025

Why in News?  

Recently, the 300 year old stone art of Gaya district of Bihar has been granted GI tag.  

Key Points  

• About Stone Art: 
  • Patharkatti village of Neemchak Bathani block of Gaya district of Bihar is famous for stone art.  
  • In stone art, apart from the statues of Lord Buddha and Mahavira, statues of various art works are also made. 
• Global Recognition: 
  • There are more than 650 artisans associated with stone art in Patharkatti village of Gaya district.  
    • By getting the GI tag, not only these artisans but also the sculpture will get a new identity abroad. This will also increase their income. 
• History: 
  • It is believed that Queen Ahilyabai Holkar named this village Pattharkatti.  
  • It was here that the craftsmen discovered a hill of black granite stones. The Vishnupad temple was built from the black granite stones of Patharkatti. 
• Other GI tagged products from Bihar 
  • Bihar's Jardalu mango, Shahi litchi, Karatani rice, Magahi paan and Madhubani painting have also received the GI tag. 

 GI Tag 

•  The full form of GI tag is Geographical Indication , which is called geographical indicator in Hindi. This tag is given to those products whose uniqueness, quality or reputation is associated with a particular geographical area. 
• By getting the GI tag, the product gets recognition at national and international level. 
• At the international level, GIs are regulated under  the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) . 
• At the national level, this work is done under the Geographical Indications of goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 , which came into force from September 2003. 
• ' Darjeeling Tea' is the first Indian product to receive the GI tag  in the year 2004 . 
• Registration of Geographical Indication is valid for 10 years.