IIT KGP-Tea Board to set up tea technology centre

Kolkata, May 28 (UNI) IIT Kharagpur and Tea Board will set up a Tea Technology Centre to develop mechanical aids to improve tea productivity and create new diversified products.

Speaking to UNI, Tea Board Chairman Basudeb Banerjee said the technology centre would be set up in the upcoming second campus of the IIT Kharagpur at Rajarhat.

An inter-disciplinary team of mechnical, IT, electrical departments of IIT-KGP, led by Dean of Sponsored Research&Industrial Consultancy Partha Chakravarty, along with the Tea Board and other stakeholders would set up this centre.

Under the 11th Plan period, Rs 130 crore has been allocated for research and development. The Tea Board would allocate a portion of this fund for the tea technology centre, Mr Banerjee said.

''The concept is at a priliminary stage. We have been discussing the idea with various stakeholders, including Tea Reasearch Association, Indian Tea Association, Tea Board,'' IIT sources said.

The tea technology centre aims to develop mechanical aids to improve plantation and bush productivity. ''They aim to develop high-tech machineries which will help speeding up processing,'' Mr Banerjee added. IIT-KGP, in association with Tea Board, might also set up labs for tea reaserach and electronic tea testing.

The centre would also focus on product diversification. ''Indian tea market need to diversify beyond the traditional tea to value added products. When we think of value-added teas in India-only options are black and green teas. We want to broadbase the tea market into more value-added products,'' ITA Secretary General Manojit Dasgupta said.

The Ready to Drink(RTD) has a huge market in abroad. ''The technology centre will focus its research in this direction,'' he said.

UNI