There is some scope for the tea industry to cheer through the many social sector schemes announced in the Union Budget.
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According to an industry official statement, the hopes comes out of the benefits accruing through the lowering of corporate tax rates for MSMEs with a turnover of up to Rs 250 crore.
The organised tea industry in India feels burdened by the social costs that it has to bear through legal frameworks like the Plantation Labour Act, which mandates it to provide the plantation workers facilities towards medical care, housing, subsidised rations and water supply. Industry pegs this to be at about 10% of its production cost.
It is now having some cause for cheer in the National Health Protection Scheme announced in the Budget which envisages providing a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per ‘poor’ family.
The sheer size of the scheme lends hope that the tea garden workers would be included within the scheme, thereby extending reasonable health care for a large sector of the tea garden population.
Similarly, the extension of the Swachh Bharat campaign to construct two crore toilets, establishment of Eklavya schools for scheduled tribes population could include a sizeable number of scheduled tribe populations of the tea Industry .
About AMRUT scheme, the tea industry felt that a similar initiative on augmenting water supply in rural sector would have benefitted the tea gardens, which are predominantly located in rural areas and exist in difficult terrain.
Although there is no industry-specific announcement, small tea growers, who were more like farmers, could avail the scheme for fisheries, horticulture or could even plant bamboo for alternative source of income.
The tea industry had sought support for tackling climate change besides seeking customs duty relief.
But strangely, the Centre made no mention of the Darjeeling tea industry in their annual financial statements.
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