Madan Diwan, coordinator of the World Agricultural Forum India (WAFI), has urged India to develop its own registration mechanism to protect its varieties of basmati rice. Diwan argues that the granting of a "varietal patent" to the Texas-based RiceTec company by the United States Patent Office (USPO) should be seen as a "wake up call" for India to cultivate, protect and sell its own varieties of the rice.