Skip to content Skip to navigation

Committee recommendion for tea

After getting the state drink status, Assam Tea moves one step closer to be accorded national drink status. This moves comes when the department related to parliamentary standing committee on commerce which was constituted w.e.f. 31st August, 2011 under the chairmanship of Shanta Kumar, with 31 members, out of which 10 are from the Rajya Sabha and 21 are from the Lok Sabha submitted its report on “Performance of plantation sector – Tea and Coffee Industry” to the Rajya Sabha on 9th August, 2012 and laid on the table of the Lok Sabha on 9th August, 2012. The Committee has given a total of 105 recommendations, out of which 48 recommendations are for the Tea Sector and another 57 recommendations are for the Coffee Sector. The committee during its interactions with the stakeholders and study visits noticed an overwhelming demand from nearly all the stakeholders of the tea industry that tea should be given the status of '"National Drink". The Committee was informed that 83 per cent of households in India consumed tea while penetration of tea is purportedly in the range of 96 per cent to 99 per cent in both urban and rural areas of the country and probably no other beverage in the world had such high level of penetration.


With a land area of 580,000 hectares and more under tea cultivation, India offers the widest range of teas in terms of taste, strength and flavour-Darjeeling, Assam Orthodox, Assam CTC, Dooars-Terai, Nilgiri CTC, Kangra and green. It is the fourth largest exporter of tea with a share of about 12% of global exports. In view of the huge volume of consumption of tea in India, even much higher to that of milk, the high level committee requested that tea should be declared as India's national drink and getting this formal recognition would give a major impetus to building the brand of the beverage which is indigenous to India. The Committee learns that many countries have declared their national drinks for instance Argentina has declared Mate as its national drink; in Brazil Cachaga enjoys this status. Similarly, Pakistan has identified sugar cane juice as its national drink long ago and China also declared green tea as its national drink.


The Committee wonders as to why tea has not been given the status of national drink despite its presence in everyday life of Indians. Though the matter was examined by the Ministry of Commerce in the year 2006, no decision has been taken yet. The Committee is of the view that tea is an integral part of the socio-cultural milieu of the country and enjoys a space in the hearth of every home irrespective of caste, class, religion and economic status of the person. Fears were expressed before the Committee that declaring tea as a 'national drink' will be at the cost of coffee or other beverages. However, the Committee agrees with the submission offered before it that the declaration of mango as national fruit did not undermine the position held by apple or other fruits for that matter. Similarly, declaration of tiger as the national animal did not endanger other animals. So the fear that declaring tea as national drink will out shadow any other beverage appears unfounded. Such a declaration will only help tea further build its brand image.


Reacting over the recommendation of the high powered department related parliamentary standing committee on commerce to declare Tea as National Drink, the Joint Forum of Assam Tea Planters’ Association (ATPA), North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) and Bharatiya Cha Parishad (BCP), thanked the Chairman and members of the committee for the recommendation. Bidyananda Barkakoty, Chairman of NETA on behalf of the joint Forum of ATPA, NETA & BCP said that like many other countries in the world, India should also have a National Drink and certainly tea deserves the tag because tea is indigenous to India apart from a host of other reasons. India, China and Vietnam are the three countries of the world where the three main cultivated varieties of tea have originated. Therefore, Tea is indigenous to India and is an area where India can take a lot of pride. He further added that,with the recommendation by the Committee, the appeal to declare tea as National Drink of India is now in a much stronger position and we hope that Govt. of India will make the declaration very soon.

Author info

Ritupallab Saikia's picture

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

PPFA denounces diktat on Sharmila

6 Aug 2016 - 7:14pm | AT News
Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA) expresses shock and utter dismay over the unwanted diktat imposed by a section of rebellion elements in Manipur on Irom Sharmila Chanu for her decision to end...

Mishap kills 2

15 May 2016 - 12:33am | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
Road mishap killed two persons and another received serious injury at Dhaligaon National Highway early this morning in Chirang district. The mishap was happened early morning along National Highway...

Polling by and large peaceful

7 Apr 2014 - 8:44am | AT News
Brisk polling is going on in Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Koliabor where 64,10,883 voters are exercising their franchise to decide on the fate 51 candidate in the first phase of Lok Sabha...

NHPC GM still missing

24 Sep 2013 - 5:45pm | AT News
NHPC general manager Anil Kumar Agarwal has been remaining incommunicado even 48 hours after he was kidnapped by NDFB(S) militants even as police arrested three persons in this connection.Police...

Other Contents by Author

The Inter DPS Basketball Tournament Zone 4 Boys (Open) hosted by DPS Numaligarh under the aegis of DPS Society, came to an end October 21. A total of eight teams - DPS Digboi, DPS Dimapur, DPS Nazira, DPS Guwahati, DPS Bokaro, DPS Ruby Park Kolkata and DPS Megacity Kolkata inclusive of the host school - participated in the tournament. The two teams that qualified for the final match were DPS Megacity, Kolkata and the host school DPS Numaligarh. Earlier in the day, DPS Bokaro qualified as the 2nd Runners Up playing against DPS Dimapur. The Special Invitee at the closing ceremony P.K.Barua, General Manager (Commercial), Numaligarh Refinery Limited, wished the finalists and the match began...
The police and jawans of CRPF resort to lathi charged and also used tear gas shells to disperse agitating crowd on Tuesday at Golaghat who were protesting against the financial anomalies of the present management committee of Athkelia Namghor, situated at a distance of about 20 kms from Golaghat town and 300 kms from Guwahati which has always occupied a very important place in the hearts of Assamese religious people.More than 500 people hailing from nearby areas of Athkelia Namghor, supported by the Jorhat and Golaghat district unit of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS) staged a sit-in-demonstration in front of the Golaghat Deputy Commissioner’s office on Tuesday. The agitators...
The Golaghat district unit of All Assam Students Union today demanded arrest and suspension of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Golaghat Krishna Barua and Bhodo Chutia, the Gaon Bura (Village Head) of Gorbasti village of Merapani for their alleged role in paying a sum of Rs. 4400/- as land revenue to Chairman of Mikirang Village Council of Nagaland.In a press meet held today, Monowar Hussain, central executive committee member of AASU alleged that the last year standoff between the Assam and Nagaland over the 250 Bighas of arable land of Gorbasti area of Merapani had been settled by paying land revenue to Nagaland administration and thereby accepting Nagaland’s dominion over the said plot...
Rangchali, Golaghat-Karbi Anglong Border, 10th July: Suspected poachers shot dead a wild tusker, chopping off its tusk and ears while its trunk was discovered nearby the jumbo’s body which was lying in Rangchali river. The incident occurred at Rangchali river side along the Golaghat-Karbi Anglong inter district border, about 260 KM from Guwahati and it falls under Dolamara Northern Range of Karbi Anglong East Division. The area where the incident took place is known as the elephant corridor as there is frequent movement of elephants from Deopahar forest to Karbi Hills. While talking to Assam Times, Parashar Saikia, Forester of Dolamara Range told that it was a male elephant...
A self styled Sergeant Major of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) was arrested from Borjan Lakhibari area of Golaghat District on the night of 4th July. Acting on a tip off, a team of Police and CRPF led byNumal Mahatto, Additional Superintendent of Police arrested the ULFA cadre. Police said the ULFA cadre has been identified as Arpanjyoti Asom alias Anantajyoti Borah and they also recovered a 9 mm pistol, time device, letter pads of the banned outfit, mobile handset and sim cards of various mobile companies.
Following the lines of Munnabhai’s Gandhigiri Golaghat Traffic Police (GTP) has come up with a unique way to prevent traffic offenders from parking their vehicles, two and four wheelers in no parking and from treading into no-entry zone.   The traffic police approached the offenders with a “Pan Tamool” requesting them to park their vehicles in their assigned places. The offenders were surprised and embarrassed at the same time when the traffic police offered them a “Pan Tamool” in place of slapping a fine. As informed by Sahabuddin Borbhuyan, the In-Charge of GTP, the idea was the brain child of a journalist which was later adopted by the traffic police. Initially this...
The engine alongwith six boggies of the Mariani Intercity Special Passenger Train (UP) got derailed at around 7.30 PM on friday night at Hunatol area in between Sarupatahr and Naojan Railway Station. However no causalities have reported in the incident.
Two suspected Maoists cadre were nabbed by Police at Kachomari Uttar Negheri village under Merapani police station, in Golaghat district on the evening of today. The arrested Maoists were identified as Monjit Bora (24) andSangita Barua (25).  Monjit Bora was absconding since 2012 as a case have been registered against him for providing shelter to Maoist cadres.
Though Assam is the birthplace of Tea in India and about 53% of the country’s total tea is produced by Assam alone but still the Tea Board has not been headquartered in Assam and Govt. of India should take steps to shift the head office of Tea Board from Kolkata to Guwahati to serve the greater interest of people connected with tea cultivation, said Bidyananda Barkakoty, Chairman of North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) while addressing its 16th biennial general meeting today.NETA, a leading tea association in Golaghat, Karbi-Anglong and Jorhat districts and have presence in Nagaon and Dibrugarh districts as wellmade its beginning at Golaghat in the year 1981, now...
The Golaghat unit of Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) has begun indefinite economic blockade against Nagaland from today onwards at Rangajan area on NH-39. The blockade has been called in protest against the killing of Sanjay Bhumij in indiscriminate firing by Naga miscreants at Naginijan Tea Estate in Marioni along the Assam-Nagaland border. More than hundred Trucks carrying amenities to Nagaland had been stranded at Rangajan. The agitators were demanding a compensation of ten lakh rupees to the family of the deceased, a high level inquiry into the matter and to bring the culprits to book and also to ensure the security of the life and property of the people leaving in the...