Darjeeling, Nov. 2: India has taken the first tentative step towards protecting Darjeeling tea to stop unscrupulous producers in various parts of the world from passing off an inferior product as the real McCoy.

The government has notified Darjeeling tea under the country?s Geographic Indicator of Good Registration and Protection Act, according to S. Bansal, vice-president of the Darjeeling Planters? Association.

This is the preliminary move towards protecting the brand value of Darjeeling teas across the globe.

A geographical indication (GI) is, generally speaking, a sign used on goods that indicates it comes from a particular region which invests it with certain special qualities or a reputation.

Until now, GIs have been used for a wide variety of agricultural products like Tuscany cheese, Roquefort cheese, Bordeaux wines and Scotch whisky.

This is the first time that India is getting into the act in order to protect products that carry the flavour of India.

Under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) legislation, which was framed in 1994 under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation, any product that displays special qualities which are related to a certain geographic region is regarded as GI and protected internationally.

The GI notification for Darjeeling tea was issued by the government last week, Bansal said.