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Commerce Ministry to tweak guidelines for future orientation of Tea Board

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Kolkata, Dec 6 (IANS) The Union Commerce Ministry has thought of tweaking the guidelines relating to the “future orientation” of Tea Board India which is presently more of a subsidy disbursement organisation, an official said.

“We keep hearing the thoughts of the future orientation of Tea Board. I personally feel that now we have entered a time when Tea Board has to move away from being a subsidy disbursement organisation to an organisation which is working with the industry on issues related to sustainability, higher quality and value addition and this should be the future orientation of Tea Board.”

“In this connection, we thought of tweaking the guidelines to bring in these elements,” the Union Commerce Ministry’s Joint Secretary (Plantations), Santosh Sarangi said here while addressing the 134th annual general meeting of the Indian Tea Association in Kolkata on Tuesday evening.

According to Sarangi, an industry generating thousands of crores of annual revenue does not need any subsidy.

He also mentioned sometimes the cost of administering the subsidy outweighs the subsidy itself.

“Frankly, an industry which is generating Rs 15,000-Rs 17,000 crore every year doesn’t require a couple of crores of subsidy,” he said, adding that for example, in the rubber board, while it was seen to administer subsidy worth Rs 30 crore, the annual establishment cost was touching Rs 100 crore.

He also said the Ministry got Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) approval for Rs 685 crore for medium term framework till 2019 and that will help in clearing of a lot of earlier subsidies that are pending.

Sarangi said there are some elements including research and development efforts, production related assistance where some amount of financial support has to continue.

He said the major focus for Tea Board would be to work on generic promotions, facilitating industry to set up tea lounges, boutiques, blending and packaging units outside India to push exports of Indian tea.

According to him, Tea Board has thought of tweaking guidelines to bring in an element of assistance for those interested in setting up such blending and packaging units outside.

“Bringing the export focus back has to be one of the prime areas, and again in that, targeting the qualities that are sold, orthodox and green variety, is something we need to work on,” he added.

–IANS
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Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok

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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.

The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.

Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.

For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.

During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.

Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.

Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .

Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.

In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.

In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.

He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.

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