Tea Board of India: The People Behind Your Masala Chai

Look at the image above and you instantly feel the “Indianness” of tea. The next time you sip the flavorful masala tea from a “kullad” (earthen tea cups), ponder over where this tea comes from. Tea is a part and parcel of our lives. Most of us Indians cannot imagine a day without tea. 

Do you know tea industry is under the regulation of the Union Government through an Act of Parliament?  

The Tea Board of India was created to take care of all the tea cultivation, production, and the growers and traders associated with this industry. In 1903, Indian Tea Cess Bill came into existence. This is when the Board came into existence too. Under the Bill, a cess was levied on tea exports. The proceeds were decided to be utilized for promoting Indian tea domestically and internationally.  

The current Tea Board of India was established under Section 4, Tea Act 1953, on April 1, 1954. It comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.  

What the Tea Board does 

Tea Board of India assigns certification numbers for exporting tea by certain tea merchants. The certification verifies the origin of teas. This decreases the possibility of fraudulent labels on India’s rarest and most expensive teas like those in Darjeeling.  

Do you know the global market features a string of faux Darjeeling teas? Thanks to the Tea Board of India, exporters are licensed by the Board and are labeled as legitimate traders.  

Another function of the Board is to endorse the diverse tea production and financial aid to research bodies, and to monitor progress in packaging of tea, as this is related to health aspects.  

The Tea Board of India coordinates with various research institutes, government bodies, and tea trade agencies to ensure technical support in the trading activities globally.  

Tea Board provides subsidy to tea growers, manufacturers, and other beneficiaries related to this industry.  

More activities  

The Tea Board of India promotes various activities and events related to tea across the nation and abroad. It provides Tea Map of India that displays all the tea growing areas in the country. The Tea Board of India regulates all tea varieties like Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri, Kangra, Dooars-Terai, Masala Tea, Sikkim Tea, and Tripura.  

Offices of the Board are in Kolkata, Dubai, Moscow, and London.  

The current Chairman of the Board is Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah.