The Hindu Business Line : Plantation body to set up productivity council

Priority to excel: The Tea Board Chairman, Mr Basudeb Bhattacharjee (third from left), along with the Chairman of Darjeeling Tea Association, Mr S. Banshal (right), and the representative from Assam Tea Plantation Association, Mr. P Bejbaruah (left), at a meeting at theTea Board office in Kolkata on Thursday. –

Our Bureau

Kolkata, Jan 1 The Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM), with support from the Union Commerce Ministry and Tea Board, is setting up Tea Planter’s Productivity Council “to place Indian tea on top of the world through best global quality and productivity management”.

Mr Basudeb Banerjee, Chairman of Tea Board, told newspersons here on Thursday that the objectives of the council would be to equip the new generation planters with the latest management techniques for tea – plantation and associated agri-business, facilitate the planters in applying scientific management for re-engineering their business processes, familiarise the academicians, scientists, students and scholars with the needs of the industry and to demonstrate higher value to the clients.

Bridging the gap

“There being lots of variations in productivity and practices in tea gardens the proposed council will try to bridge the gap through dissemination of information through networking and sharing knowledge,” Mr Banerjee said adding that the Assam chapter of the council had already been launched in Tea Research Association, Jorhat. “But then it will be like a quality circle so that there can be council even at the district level where the workers too need to upgrade their skill,” he said.

Mr G Boria, Director, Tea Board, said the Union Government had sanctioned Rs 50 crore in the 11th plan for human resources development in the tea industry, of which Rs 37.5 crore had been earmarked for health and education of tea workers and the balance Rs 12.5 crore for training. About 60 per cent of the amount would spent on training for workers and the balance 40 per cent on training of managers.

Biz programme

IIPM, according to its Director, Professsor V G Dhanakumar, is going to start from October a one-year programme on international commodity business covering a wide spectrum of commodity management including commodity derivatives. “So far the focus was on production and marketing but we would like to have the tea managers greater understanding of the entire value chain,” he said.

Dr M Paduranga Vittal, Professor of Finance & Strategy, IIPM, said the institute had been successfully running two-year post graduate programme on agri-business and plantation management and one-year executive programme for practising managers.

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