Guwahati: The Assam government on Sunday rolled out an incentive scheme to boost production of orthodox and speciality tea, which have high demand in overseas markets and can help planters fetch better prices.
Launching the Assam Tea Industries Special Incentive Scheme (ATISIS), 2020, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma highlighted his government's plans for land reforms of tea estates and enhancing social security network of workers by gradually taking over the existing health and educational institutions of gardens.
"The primary idea behind this scheme is to establish a balance between the production of CTC tea and orthodox variety. Orthodox tea has good demand in overseas markets. If we can increase the production, we can expand our market share," he said. Orthodox and speciality tea currently account for about 11 per cent of the state's annual production, and the rest is of CTC variety. The cost of manufacturing orthodox tea per kilogram is 20-25 per cent higher than that of CTC variety, and the ATISIS is expected to help bridge this gap, he added.
"The cost of production of orthodox tea is higher and hence, help is needed. For this purpose, we have implemented this scheme," Sarma said. Under the ATISIS, the state government will provide interest subvention of three per cent per annum on working capital loan and subsidy of Rs 7 per kg for production of orthodox and speciality varieties.
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