KOLKATA : Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday made several announcements here relating to the launch of tea rejuvenation fund, the tea e-auction system and GI registration for Nilgiri tea. He also announced Rs. 260 crore investment for setting land customs stations on the India-Bangladesh border and food processing facilities in West Bengal. Addressing a press meet after meeting the West Bengal Chief Minister and later the tea-industry stakeholders, he said that the first loan agreement for the Rs. 4,760 crore Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) was likely to be signed on June 1.

This would cover 1,600 gardens spread out over two lakh hectares under 800 owners. Assam would get 46 per cent of the fund, followed by West Bengal (28 per cent) and Kerala and Tamil Nadu (25 per cent). Towards funding, the Centre would give 25 per cent subsidy, tea garden owners 25 per cent and the balance coming from the SPTF. However Mr. Ramesh said that gardens with provident fund defaults would not qualify for the fund unless they submitted to the Tea Board, a time-bound plan for liquidating the dues.

He said that by November, a system of e-auction would be in place and the transition was to be voluntary. A consultant was being selected and the software had been designed.

Congratulating the Tea Board for successfully fighting trademark applications for use of the term `Darjeeling Nouveau' for tea (in the U.S.) and for use of the name Darjeeling and the symbol of a tea pot on unrelated items (in France), he said that Darjeeling and Kangra tea were already registered under the GI system and efforts were on to get the same for Nilgiri tea.

On the export front, he said Pakistan was this year's success story and efforts were on to revive the dialogue.

In the food processing sector, Rs. 60 crore projects (to be funded by the Commerce Ministry) had been identified for setting up a pineapple post -harvesting and auctioning centre in North Bengal, a floriculture market in Kolkata, a potato market centre in Burdwan and a modern storage facility in Haldia Port.

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