Assam Government announced 100 crore rupees package for tea garden communities

Assam Government on 22 December 2013 announced special package of 100 crore rupees for the upliftment of the tea garden communities. Package amount would be used for the expansion of the education and for increasing the employment opportunities among the tea tribes.

The Chief Minister also announced to donate 20 lakh rupees to publish different books related to the tea tribes. Special schemes will be launched soon for the upgradation of employment opportunities. Under the expansion of education, government announced to provide bicycles to students and to connect the rural areas through electricity.

The Tea-tribes are tribes that were brought by the British colonial planters as indentured labourers from the Chhota Nagpur Plateau region. They are found mainly in the districts of Darrang, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj Tinsukia and almost all the districts of Assam in India.

India produces and consumes more tea than any other country in the world, except for China, including the famous Assam tea and Darjeeling tea. Tea was officially recognized as the “National Drink” in 2013.

According to the ASSOCHAM report released in December 2011, India, as the world’s largest consumer of tea uses nearly 30 per cent of the global output. India is also the second largest producer of tea. Despite the production, India is also the largest exporter of tea after China.