With reference to the “Tea Board” in India, consider the following statements: 1. The Tea Board is a statutory body. 2. It is a regulatory body attached to

1. A. 1 and 3
2. B. 2 and 4
3. C. 3 and 4
4. D. 1 and 4

Answer: D

Explanation

The genesis of the Tea Board India dates back to 1903 when the Indian Tea Cess Bill was passed. The present Tea Board set up under section 4 of the Tea Act 1953 was constituted on 1st April 1954. It has succeeded the Central Tea Board and the Indian Tea Licencing Committee which functioned respectively under the Central Tea Board Act,1949 and the Indian Tea Control Act, 1938 which were repealed. The activities of the two previous bodies had been confined largely to regulation of tea cultivation and export of tea as required by the International Tea Agreement then in force, and promotion of tea Consumption. Statement 1 is correct and statement 2 is not correct: The present Tea Board is functioning as a statutory body of the Central Government under the Ministry of Commerce. The Board is constituted of 31 members (including Chairman) drawn from Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and representatives of Governments from the principal tea producing states, and trade unions. The Board is reconstituted every three years. Statement 3 is not correct: Its head office is located at Kolkata (West Bengal). Statement 4 is correct: Currently Tea Board has two overseas offices located at Dubai, and Moscow. All these foreign offices of the Board are designed to undertake the various promotional measures to boost up export of Indian tea. These offices also act as a liaison office for interaction between importers of Indian tea of the respective regions as well as Indian Exporters.