— Jawaharlal Nehru at the celebration in Kolkata on December 27, 1961, of the centenary of the first tea auction in India.

The Indianisation of sterling tea companies under the erstwhile Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) of 1973 easily qualifies as the most important development the tea industry has witnessed in the 60 years since Independence.

In terms of impact, the interventions by the government in the form of control measures in the early and mid-1980s deserve to be mentioned next. Mention must also be made of the rupee trade protocol with the erstwhile Soviet Union which provided for a large chunk of the country’s total tea exports being earmarked, year after year, for that destination. In fact, a stage was reached when the erstwhile Soviet Union displaced the UK as the largest importer of Indian tea. This arrangement had its fallout — both positive and negative — for the tea industry.

The last mention-worthy development is of international importance — the coming to the fore of beneficial effects of tea consumption on health as a result of research studies.

The sterling tea companies operating in India were rather late in initiating the process of Indianisation (the term ‘rupeeisation’ also came into vogue then). Keeping in mind that tea was a big foreign exchange earner and to ensure that the large-scale agro-industrial activity did not suffer disruption, a special dispensation was made for tea in the FERA 1973. The British owners were allowed to retain 74 per cent stake, which meant they had to offer 26 per cent to the Indian public.

On being reminded of their obligation under FERA 1973, they started the process by the fag end of the 1970s and by the early 1980s, the Indianisation exercise was substantially over. Indians became shareholders and the boards of the companies too saw significant changes.

But the sterling tea companies were not allowed under FERA 1973 to either expand or diversify their business. This was a sore point with them.

In 1983, tea prices rose sharply. The reasons were stagnation in production for several years, good exports and increasing domestic consumption. As tea is a mass consumption item, the Centre and State governments invariably take a serious view of any unusual spurt in domestic prices. On December 24, 1983, the Centre, under the Tea (Distribution & Export) Control Order, banned export of CTC tea, except for tea bags and/or packets and for teas bought and contracted before the order. The ban was lifted on May 12, 1984, but re-imposed from September 3, 1984, and finally lifted in the mid-1985. The ban was strongly resented, not only by producers but also by importers.

A minimum export price (MEP) scheme was brought into force in September 1984. This scheme was lifted in August 1985. The domestic prices did not respond to the extent expected by the Centre. In fact, prices further strengthened to levels not seen before.

The Centre reacted with stiff measures to bring prices down to reasonable levels and these included The Tea (Regulation and Export Licensing) Order 1984 and The Tea (Marketing Control) Order 1984. Teas purchased for export outside auctions were required o be registered with the Tea Board within 11 days from the date of contract under the first order. Under the second order, 70 per cent of all teas was to be statutorily sold through registered auction centres with effect from July 19, 1984.

Then, in 1985, the statutory minimum sale through registered auction centres was increased to 75 per cent. Exports and tea sold in packets were, however, excluded for the purpose of computing the stipulated percentage for routing through public auctions.

The positive aspect of the Rupee Trade Protocol with the erstwhile Soviet Union was that the export of a sizeable quantity of tea was assured even when international trade conditions suddenly became adverse. But the provision, many people argued, prevented the Indian exporters from mounting efforts to tap hard currency markets vigorously. Market diversification efforts had a very low priority in the scheme of things of tea exporters.

The mid-1980s marked the beginning serious, sustained research studies on the effect of consumption of beverages on human health and before long the focus was on tea. The studies by research scientists and other experts in course of time covered both green and black tea, and the subject was chosen for deliberations at the international level as it gradually became clear that consumption of tea had beneficial effects on health.

The first meeting was held in 1991. The second conference took place in 1998. A project was also undertaken by the Governmental Group on Tea under the auspices of FAO. It was a four-year project which was over by 1999.

It entailed an expenditure of $4.6 million, which was shared by the Common Fund for Commodities under FAO, tea trade of the UK, Canada and the US (42 per cent each) and India, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Indonesia (16 per cent). The UK Tea Council was the designated project executing agency (PEA). The subject was also taken for deliberations at the Millennium International Tea Convention held in New Delhi from March 22-24, 2000. The eminent participants highlighted the progress of research studies and findings there from.

The key findings are: Polyphenols, which act as anti-oxidants and found in high concentration in tea, help prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The fluoride content in tea acts as a check against dental decay. Flavonoids in tea are effective in preventing solar radiation and improving blood circulation.

The latter, in turn, helps tone up the skin. Useful minerals such as potassium, zinc and manganese are also present in tea. The relatively low caffeine content in it is another plus point. The stimulating effect of tea consumption can be attributed to an extent to this factor.

It may be mentioned that armed with the findings the Inter-Governmental Group mounted test marketing efforts in four countries and reports indicated positive results. It is reasonable to expect that the ‘drink tea’ campaign will in the long run push the demand for tea and the Indian industry will stand to gain.

The Union Government’s recent initiative was the setting of a Special Purpose Tea Fund towards accelerating the replantation and rejuvenation activity.

The fund was launched by the Union minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, at Guwahati on June 25, 2007. The Centre will pay a subsidy of 25 per cent. The beneficiary gardens will have to contribute 25 per cent and 50 per cent will be given as soft loans by banks and/or financial institutions.

Acquisition by Tata Tea in February 2000 of the UK-based Tetley Group. In the last two years or so, Tata Tea is gradually diluting its direct involvement as owner in garden operations and laying more emphasis on value-addition and marketing.

Between May 2005 and March 2006, Levers sold their tea gardens under the fold of three companies — Rossell Industries (erstwhile Jokai India), Doom Dooma and Tea Estates. Gardens of Rossell and Doom Dooma are located in Assam. The properties of Tea Estates are located in Tamil Nadu. The B. M. Khaitan Group, known for its commitment to the tea industry, further strengthened its presence in the industry with the acquisition of Doom Dooma.

August 1, 1949: The Central Tea Board was constituted and held its first meeting; in 1954, the new Tea Board building was inaugurated with renewed powers granted to the Board under the Tea Act of 1953, under which production and market ing were to be regulated.

December 27, 1961: Centenary of the first sale of tea by auction in India at Kolkata; the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the chief guest at the celebrations; he also laid the foundation stone of the auction auditorium at Nilh at House, headquarters of the renowned tea action firm, J Thomas.

March 1, 1960: The Tea Industry adopted the Metric System of weights and measures.

1962: The year saw the beginning of a pronounced shift from Orthodox to CTC manufacture.

January 1, 1964: Tea Research Association was formed with Tocklai Experimental Station at Jorehaut in Assam of the erstwhile scientific department of ITA, founded in 1900, as a nucleus.

1965: The India-Pakistan War resulted in the closure of the river route from Assam; £7 million worth tea was seized by the erstwhile East Pakistan, among other commodities; this heralded a rapid change from river to rail and road transport.

1966: The last year during which Legg-cut teas were manufactured in India; the year also saw for the first time experiments being carried out with palletised tea cargo for exports; a glossary of tea tasting terms was officially prepare d by the Indian Standards Institution.

December 1971: Tea Trading Corporation of India (TTCI) was incorporated by the Centre with the objective of promoting packet tea exports; TTCI began operations on a modest scale in 1973; it was also entrusted with the responsibility of reviving some sick tea estates; it is now more than seven years since it stopped functioning.

February 10, 1978: Tea was declared an ‘Essential Commodity’. In April of the same year, the Government asked for compulsory registration of tea dealers and declaration of stocks. This order was rescinded in 1979 and re-int roduced in 1984.

End-1979 to early 1980: International Tea Promotion Association became functional with headquarters in Rotterdam; it was wound up in five years or so thereafter.

January 1980: The Calcutta Sale No 1 began to be held in the first week of January and not in the first week of April, conforming to the practice of all major tea centres. Guwahati and Siliguri followed suit.

January 12, 1981: Commencement of Centenary celebrations of Indian Tea Association, the premier and oldest organisation of tea producers in India, which was founded in 1881.

1986: Commencement of Centenary celebrations in the course of the year of Calcutta Tea Traders Association, the “trinity of buyers, brokers and sellers of tea” in Kolkata, which was formally was set up on September 25, 1886 .

1989: The world’s oldest tea company, The Assam Company, completed 150 years of existence.

1994: Centenary year of The United Planters Association of Southern India.

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