Alibag. October 2: The famed white onion of Alibag in Maharashtra's Raigad district has earned itself a 'Geographical Indication', giving the crop a unique identity and wider markets, agriculture department officials said here on Saturday.

They pointed out that Alibag's white onion, which has medicinal qualities and is used for the treatment of heart ailments, controlling cholesterol and creation of insulin, has been mentioned in the official gazette as long back as 1883. Also Read | Election Commission Freezes Lok Janshakti Party Poll Symbol Till Dispute Between Chirag Paswan, Pashupati Paras Factions Is Settled.

"The agriculture department here and Konkan Agriculture University had jointly submitted the GI application on January 15, 2019. On September 29 this year, the proposal was scrutinised in the Mumbai office of the Registrar of Patents and it was decided to confer GI tag on Alibag's white onion," an official said. He said the average income per acre from the crop is around Rs 2 lakh.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)