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.