Authoor betel leaves from Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi district recently received a Geographical Indication (GI) certificate.

• The GI tag felicitated by the Tamil Nadu State Agriculture Marketing Board and NABARD Madurai Agribusiness Incubation Forum, is registered in the name of Authoor Vattara Vetrilai Vivasaigal Sangam.
• The betel leaves commonly known as 'Vettrilai' have been mentioned in the 13th century book of Marco Polo, ‘The Venetian’.
• Thoothukudi district officials told IANS that several ancient stone inscriptions reveal the archaic richness and significance of Authoor Vettrilai in Tamil culture.