To prune list of export-eligible aromatic rice strains, preserve brand identity of popular varieties

At present, the government recognises 45 aromatic rice varieties as eligible for export as basmati

What’s in a name? A lot, if basmati rice exporters are to be believed. At their behest, the Centre has initiated a review of India’s approved basmati varieties, seeking to prune the list of export-eligible aromatic rice strains and preserve the brand identity of popular varieties such as Pusa Basmati 1121.

At present, the government recognises 45 aromatic rice varieties as eligible for export as basmati. Exporters have long argued that this list is too long because only a handful of varieties are actually sought after by overseas buyers. With the government deciding to prune the approved list of names, basmati varieties will be more aligned with what the export market demands.

Also, typically, when scientists improve an existing basmati variety, they release it under a new code/name. Exporters say this creates a marketing problem because foreign buyers only recognise famous varieties such as Pusa Basmati 1121, which is the world’s longest elongated rice after cooking. The popularity of Pusa Basmati 1121 is such that the other producing country, Pakistan, also sells its aromatic rice using 1121 code.

To be able to qualify as basmati, one of the few parameters is the size that needs to be minimum 12 mm length after cooking. But in case of Pusa Basmati 1121, which was released in 2005, the length expands to 22 mm.

“Pusa 1121 contributed to taking India’s basmati exports to over ₹50,000 crore (2025-26) from less than ₹3,000 crore (2004-05) for which IARI has done a commendable job. But if there is an alignment in names of improved varieties with the parent successful variety, it is a welcome step,” said Vijay Setia, a former President of the All India Rice Exporters Association.

no decision yet

Sources said that top IARI scientists, officials of the government’s agri export promotion arm APEDA and some exporters had a brainstorming earlier this week. Though there is no decision yet, ICAR is believed to have agreed to revisiting the naming issue in Basmati varieties.

“For a mature GI product like basmati, a living variety management framework might be preferable to a static list through defined reputation principles. Basmati rice GI system may classify varieties as principal varieties, which forms the core identity of the GI while the remaining [including improved varieties] could be classified as secondary varieties, historic/heritage varieties, experimental varieties and withdrawn varieties,” said trade policy expert S Chandrasekaran.

Published on June 26, 2026