In news– The Government of India’s Intellectual Property Rights Authority awarded the GI tag for special aromatic Nagri Dubraj rice of Chhattisgarh.
About Nagri Dubraj rice-
- Nagari Dubraj rice, popularly known as Basmati of Chhattisgarh, is the traditional, fragrant rice variety of the state, which has a lot of fame and demand within and outside the state.
- The women’s self-help group “Maa Durga Swasahayata Samuh” of Nagri in Dhamtari district has been harvesting Dubraj and had applied to the GI tag.
- The origin of the Dubraj is believed to be from the Shringi Rishi ashram area of Sihawa: The grain finds reference in Valmiki Ramayana.
- Even in various research papers, the source of Dubraj has been identified as Sihawa in the Nagri area.
- The rice is of an indigenous variety and has small grains and the rice is very soft to eat after cooking.
- One acre gives a maximum yield of six quintals. Paddy has a low height and maturity period of 140 days.
- After “Jiraphool” rice of Surguja district in the year 2019, now Nagri Dubraj rice has been given the Geographical Indication tag.
Source: Times of India
