CM Yogi: UP Has 79 GI-Tagged MSME Products, 75 More Applied
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Carpets, brass, perfume, silk — and now, billion-rupee brands. Speaking at the UP International Trade Summit 2026 (#UPITS2026), Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, as quoted by the Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, 25 September 2026, declared that Uttar Pradesh now holds Geographical Indication (GI) Tags for 79 products in its MSME sector — and has filed applications for 75 more.
From Bhaddohi's looms to Varanasi's silk — a heritage portfolio goes global
The Chief Minister listed the headline names: the carpets of Bhadohi, the gleaming brassware of Moradabad, the intoxicating perfumes of Kannauj, and the world-famous silk sarees of Varanasi. Each of these crafts carries centuries of artisanal knowledge — and each now sits, by the government's account, at the centre of a multi-crore-rupee turnover brand. 'हम सांस्कृतिक विरासत से जुड़े इन उत्पादों को करोड़ों रुपये के Turnover वाले Brand में बदल चुके हैं' — 'We have turned these culturally rooted products into brands with crores in turnover,' the Chief Minister said.
What a GI Tag actually does — and why UP is stacking them
A Geographical Indication tag, granted under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, is intellectual property protection for region-specific goods with unique qualities tied to their place of origin. Think Champagne for France, or Darjeeling for tea — the tag stops cheaper imitations from riding a product's reputation. For UP's artisans, it is also a commercial passport: a GI label signals authenticity to buyers at home and abroad, allowing producers to command a premium.
The push accelerated after 2018, when the state launched the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme — a policy designed to identify and scale the most distinctive craft or product of each district. Many ODOP products subsequently entered the GI pipeline, creating a direct link between local economic policy and intellectual property protection.
75 applications pending — the next wave at UPITS2026
The summit is the natural stage for this announcement. With 75 new GI applications already filed, the state is signalling that the current tally of 79 tags is a floor, not a ceiling. Handicraft exporters, traditional weavers, and MSME artisans across UP's districts stand to gain if the pending applications are approved — widening the branded portfolio and deepening the export story the government is selling to investors at the summit.
No other Indian state has pursued GI registration at this scale within a single MSME framework, making UP's approach a template — and a competitive assertion — in the national race to convert cultural assets into economic output.
The question the summit will have to answer: can the brand infrastructure — logistics, e-commerce, quality certification — grow fast enough to match the ambition of the GI ledger?