A Geographical Indication (GI) tag is a legal certification under India’s GI Act 1999 that ties a product’s name to its specific place of origin — protecting it from imitation and misuse. Unlike a trademark, which protects a brand name owned by one company, a GI tag protects an entire community of producers from a region — weavers, farmers, craftspeople — giving them the exclusive right to use that product name commercially. In India, over 650 products carry a GI tag today — from Darjeeling Tea and Alphonso Mango to Kolhapuri Chappal and Paithani Saree — making it one of the most powerful and underused tools for building a premium, authentic business.