It was mentioned on behalf of the Tea Board that further meetings would be held with ROSCHAI KOFE to periodically assess the progress and reactions of the media and it would be India's endeavour to continuously adjust and modify its strategy with the constructive inputs from the Russian tea trade.
It was also stated that the matter of extending the eligibility of the logo to packaging in Russia could be examined in due course and the Tea Board would be happy to share its modalities with Russian importers on an on-going basis. It was currently envisaged to restrict the logo to only 100 per cent Indian teas but the Tea Board would be open to receiving suggestions from Russian trade as to whether this needs to be modified over a period of time.

MEETING WITH HON’BLE COMMERCE & INDUSTRY MINISTER, WEST BENGAL

A tea industry delegation met Hon'ble West Bengal Commerce & Industry Minister Mr. Nirupam Sen and discussed at length several sector-related issues including the levy of 'Salami', grant of NOCs to small growers,

ways of upgrading the crop quality and modernising the auction system. The meeting, convened on 23 October, 2002 under Sen's chairmanship, was attended by the Minister-in-Charge, Municipal & Urban Development, Mr. Asoke Bhattacharya, Principal Secretary, Commerce & Industry, Mr. Jawhar Sircar, senior state government officials as well as the ITA Chairman, Mr. Bharat Bajoria and Secretary general, Mr. D Chakrabarti and representatives of the associations of small growers.

Levy of 'Salami'

Mr. Sen informed that the state government has formed an 'Internal Committee' to review the levy of Salami which has been imposed on transfers of tea estates other than by way of inheritance. He said the Committee members had met representatives of several Associations, adding that the panel has already tabled its recommendations on the issue. It may be noted here that ITA had asked for total waiver of Salami in its earlier meeting with the Mr. Sen and also took the same position before the Internal Committee.
The minister said that the government will announce its decision on the basis of the Committee's recommendations which have been made after taking into consideration a wide range of view points.

NOCs to small growers

During the discussions, it was noted that approximately 400 NOCs had so far been issued, including 185 in Jalpaiguri district. The West Bengal Land & Land Reforms Department has indicated that NOCs were being held up in many cases since the settlement of government land within many of the small holdings could not be finalised because the final decision on the 'Salami' payable for such settlement have been pending.

India’s ‘Tea Logo Promotion Programme’ was unveiled through a PR event at Moscow's Salvyanskaya Hotel on 24th October 2002.
The highlight of the event was the unveiling of the logo with the strapline 'INDIA TEA. WORLD's GOLD STANDARD'. His Excellency, Mr. K. Raghunath, Indian Ambassador to the Russian Federation, unveiled the logo at a ceremony attended by over 150 delegates from the Russian tea trade, media and senior Consular staff.
Russia was selected as the pilot market for this promotion because of its traditional mportance to the Indian tea industry and keeping in view that the consumer in that country is origin-
specific in choosing the brew. The objective of the campaign was to create a high degree of awareness of Indian tea and to reinforce its quality image. The campaign will be advertised in the Russian mass media — covering both television and print.
The campaign involves an annual outlay of Rs 50 million and revolves on the theme 'Pure perfection from India' — imaging Indian tea with the perfection of the Taj Mahal. The campaign was preceded by a detailed market research on the preferences and attitudes of the Russian consumer and tea buying habits. J. Walter Thomson, a leading global advertising agency, conceptualised and executed the campaign.
The campaign has already commenced in prime slots on Russian TV spread across several time zones, including in key Russian cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc. The campaign was preceded by a detailed market research on the preferences and attitudes of the Russian consumer and tea buying habits.

Tea Board Chairman Mr.N.K.Das at the
of the tea Promotion Logo Programme