Tea Board introduced Accident scheme for workers
The Tea Board of India has
introduced an accident insurance scheme for workers in small tea gardens at an annual premium of Rs.14. Of this, tea farmers will have to
pay only Rs. 3.50 annually.
- The scheme provides compensation to small tea farmers between 18 and 70 years for a Rs.2 lakh-cover.
Background:
The share of small growers in
total Indian tea production is rising. Of the total Indian tea production of
1,233 million kg in 2015-16, around 33.8% came from small tea gardens. The
scheme aims to help these small growers along with tea growers in the
unorganized sector.
About Tea Board of India:
The Tea Board is set up under
the Tea
Act 1953. It has succeeded the Central Tea Board and the Indian Tea
Licencing Committee which functioned respectively under the Central Tea Board
Act, 1949 and the Indian Tea Control Act, 1938 which were repealed.
- The Tea Board is functioning as a statutory body of the Central Government under the Ministry of Commerce.
- The Board is constituted of 31 members (including Chairman) drawn from Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and representatives of Governments from the principal tea producing states, and trade unions . The Board is reconstituted every three years.
Functions:
- The Tea Board India is responsible for the assignment of certification numbers to exports of certain tea merchants. This certification is intended to ensure the teas’ origin, which in turn would reduce the amount of fraudulent labelling on rare teas.
- The Tea Board India’s tasks include endorsement of the diverse production and productivity of tea, financial support of research organisations and the monitoring of advances in tea packaging as it relates to health beneficial aspects.
It coordinates research institutes, the tea trade and government bodies,
ensuring the technical support of the tea trade in the global industry.
