Tea is one of the industries, which by an Act of Parliament comes under the control of the Union Govt. The genesis of the Tea Board India dates back to 1903 when the Indian Tea Cess Bill was passed. The Bill provided for levying a Cess on tea exports - the proceeds of which were to be used for the promotion of Indian tea both within and outside India. The present Tea Board set up under section 4 of the Tea Act 1953 was constituted on 1st April 1954.
The board headquarter is in Kolkata which works to promote tea production, quality and export worldwide with the objective of making India as a leading producer and exporter around the globe.
The Government of India has conveyed its approval for the Tea Board’s Scheme “Tea Development & Promotion Scheme” for implementation during the Medium-Term Framework (MTF) (2017-18 to 2019-2020).
The scheme has the following seven components covering the broad areas of Tea Board’s operation are as follows: -
- Plantation Development including small growers
Its 5 sub-components are:
- Replantation, Replacement Planting, Rejuvenation of old tea bushes
- New Planting
- Organic Tea
- Irrigation
- Field Mechanization
- Quality Upgradation and Product Diversification including Orthodox Production
- Market Promotion – Domestic and International
- Research and Development
- Human Resource Development
- National Program for Tea Regulation
- Establishment Expenses