[2][3][4] It is a common and widely cultivated crop in districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar along with some parts of Darjeeling & Kalimpong districts of West Bengal.
[9] The word "Kalonunia" is derived from "Kalo", meaning black in the state language of Bengali, representing the black-husked grain, and "Nunia", indicating a local rice group of West Bengal.
[11] "Chaal" means rice in the local state language of Bengali.
[12] Some of the uses and characteristics of Kalonunia rice:[13][14] It was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) status tag from the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Government of India on 2 January 2024 (valid until 11 March 2034).
State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) from Narendrapur, proposed the GI registration of Kalonunia rice.