Tobacco earns Rs 7200 cr excise revenue for India

Rajahmundry, Nov 16: India earns Rs 1,362 crore as foreign exchange and Rs 7,200 crore as excise revenue through tobacco, according to Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) Director V Krishnamurthy.

Talking to UNI he said this year the world tobacco production was about 5,814 million kgs and China ranked first with 1,945 million kgs production while Brazil occupied second place with 750 million kg and India occupied third with 700 million kg production.

He said in the flue cured virgina tobacco production India, ranked third with 245 million kg of exports, had seen slight progress over last year. About 36 million people directly or indirectly depended upon tobacco for their livelihood, he added.

He said CTRI had taken initiatives and concentrated on research on gene pyramiding, molecular mapping of tobacco traits DNA finger printing and development of hybrid tobacco and alternative uses of tobacco.

He said the emphasis would be given to important issues like hybrid tobacco production, reduction of harmful substances, extraction, purification and commercialisation of valuable phyto- chemicals, moisture and nutrient depletion studies in different tobacco soils. Monitoring of major and minor nutrients, evolving disease and pest resistance tobacco varieities with desitable quality parameters would meet the export and trade demand of tobacco, which unltimately keep the Indian tobacco in the forefront, he added.

UNI