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Kolkata, <keyword id="42606" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tea-production" source="Orion">Tea production</keyword> in the country has dipped by 6.18 per cent to 127.12 million kilograms in November 2023. According to <keyword id="20037006" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tea-board" source="keywords">Tea Board</keyword> data, the production in the year-ago month was 135.49 million kgs. In North India, primarily comprising Assam and <keyword id="19896517" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="west-bengal" source="keywords">West Bengal</keyword>, the production volume was at 106.23 million kgs (mkgs), down from 114.18 mkgs in the same period previous year. The production figures in November 2023 in South India stood lower at 20.89 mkgs from 21.31 mkgs in the same month of 2022. Maintaining the trend, the production of small growers was higher than the organised gardens in the month under review. Small growers produced 67.50 mkgs in November 2023, Tea Board data said. Tea Board had issued notifications regarding plucking restrictions during the winter months in order to preserve the quality of bushes. For tea estates in Darjeeling and gardens located at higher elevations, the last date for plucking of green leaves was December 11, 2023. The same for North Bengal's Dooars and Terai regions was December 23.

Storm in a cup: India's tea production falls by 6.18% in November

<ul><li>An increase in <keyword id="46725" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tea-prices" source="Orion">tea prices</keyword> following global supply issues is likely to offset the impact of increased wage rates.</li><li>However, prices of South India (grown in Kerala, Karnataka and <keyword id="20154" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tamil-nadu" source="Orion">Tamil Nadu</keyword>) CTC teas remained lower.</li><li>Sri Lanka's economic crisis also contributes to the high price of ODX tea. </li></ul>An increase in tea prices following global supply issues is likely to offset the impact of increased wage rates in West Bengal and <keyword id="6354915" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="assam" source="Orion">Assam</keyword>, according to a report. The increase in wage rates in the current calendar year in North India (NI), Assam and West Bengal, in the current financial year is expected to be nullified by healthy realisations of teas, particularly producers who are focused on producing quality teas, <keyword id="6354972" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="icra" source="Orion">Icra</keyword> said in a report. In FY22, softening of realisation and increase in wage rates led to a decline in the operating margin (OPM) of players, it noted. “Notwithstanding the impact of higher wage rates, the financial performance of quality producers is likely to witness an improvement in FY23 on a year-on-year basis. Increase in prices of quality crush-tear-curl (CTC) and Orthodox (ODX) teas would enable the producers to absorb the higher cost of production due to the wage rate revision,” Icra Vice President and Sector Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, <keyword id="9062002" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sujoy-saha" source="Orion">Sujoy Saha</keyword> said. The report stated that the ODX tea prices are ruling at an all-time high level on the back of a demand-supply mismatch in the international market due to production disruptions in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, the largest exporter of ODX teas globally, witnessed disruptions in production due to the current economic crisis. The production loss in Sri Lanka is likely to continue for some more time, which would keep supply tight in the international market, thus supporting prices of Indian ODX teas, said the report. Prices of NI CTC tea are also up by 5 per cent y-on-y basis, primarily driven by the sharp rise in auction prices in August 2022. The uptrend in NI CTC prices is supported by lower-than-expected production, particularly of quality estate teas, in the current season and increasing demand for good quality teas, it noted. Price premium for top quality CTC tea is likely to sustain going forward, given the limited supply base of the same, it added. However, prices of South India (grown in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) CTC teas remained lower compared to the previous two fiscals due to sustained production levels from bought leaves in NI, a direct competitor of SI CTC teas in terms of quality. “With ODX prices expected to sustain at a significantly higher level on a y-on-y basis, some quality producers have increased ODX production. Consequently, production of quality CTC is likely to remain flattish, which will continue to support prices of such teas as well. An analysis of tea prices indicates that the price differential of NI CTC teas, manufactured by the top 50 estates over average auction prices, increased to 137 per kg in the first 8 months CY2022 from Rs 122 per kg in CY2021,” Icra Vice President and Co-Group Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, Kaushik Das said. Till May 2022, cumulative all-India production was up 16 per cent to 320 million kg on a y-on-y basis. However, crop loss in June and July 2022, due to unfavourable weather conditions and floods, led to a 2 per cent drop in the all-India production to 614 million kg in the first seven months of CY2022 on a y-on-y basis. Given that 54 per cent of the annual production typically takes place during the last five months of any calendar year, Icra expects the overall production in CY2022 to remain flat compared to last year, although the same would remain dependent on the cropping levels till October, after which production will start to fall. In CY2021, all-India production was up by 7 per cent to 1,343 million kg on a y-on-y basis, recovering from the lows of the pandemic-impacted CY2020 season. However, it still remained 3 per cent lower compared to the record crop of CY2019, the Icra report stated. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tata-tigor-ev-vs-tata-tiago-ev-comparison-of-price-and-features/slidelist/94551771.cms">Tata Tigor EV vs Tiago EV - which one should you buy?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/ev-battery-can-charge-in-three-minutes-a-harvard-backed-company-claimed/articleshow/94295446.cms">Harvard-backed company makes an EV battery that fully charges in three minutes</a>

Increase in tea prices to offset impact of wage rate hike in WB, Assam: ICRA

<ul><li><keyword id="11585629" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Baptist-Christian-Hospital">Baptist Christian Hospital</keyword> has integrated Qure.ai’s <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword> solution to read brain CT scans in a matter of seconds.</li><li>About 150 people are affected by strokes in Assam every day and 54,890 on a yearly basis.</li><li>Baptist Christian Hospital has been using the technology since March-April 2021 and has been diagnosing about 100 patients on a monthly basis.</li></ul> Nestled in the foothills of Himalayas, the Baptist Christian Hospital, in the Tezpur town of Assam, decided to move away from its traditional radiology solution in order to provide faster treatment to its patients affected by strokes and concussions. The hospital, which largely caters to the tea plantation workers in and around the town, has integrated Qure.ai’s artificial intelligence solution since then to read the brain CT scan in a matter of seconds. <div type="image" title="A small hospital in a remote corner of Assam is using AI to detect strokes in tea planters" msid="84194124" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Baptist Christian Hospital in Tezpur, Assam&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Not many are aware, but strokes are one of the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/haemorrhagic-stroke-rate-highest-in-india-s-northeastern-states/story-2A4TFEVpDvE34HAgqMaDLP.html">major causes</a> of death in the Assamese region. About 150 people are affected by strokes in Assam every day and 54,890 on a yearly basis, according to a<a href="https://www.sentinelassam.com/guwahati-city/stroke-affects-54890-every-year-in-assam-gnrc/"> study</a> released by a local hospital GNRC in 2018. One of its previous <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/48-die-of-stroke-daily-in-assam-study/cid/1626782">reports</a> published in 2014 highlighted that 48 people die of these strokes in the state. The situation is definitely a tough one in the region and it is aggravated due to the lack of radiologists — medical practitioners who use medical imaging to diagnose and treat diseases on the scene. According to a Global Healthcare Insights <a href="https://globalhealthi.com/2017/04/20/medical-imaging-india/">report </a>published in 2017, there are about 10,000 practicing radiologists in India and it is not enough. Prashant <keyword id="1967905" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Warrier">Warrier</keyword>, co-founder and chief executive of Qure.ai, tells Business Insider that India has about 15,000 radiologists as of 2021 and they are usually concentrated in the metro or Tier I cities. This leads to people from suburban areas to either travel long distances to go to a healthcare facility or hospitals to rely on third-party radiologists. Both these solutions are not only inconvenient, but also not efficient. Dr. Jemin J Webster of the Baptist Christian Hospital highlights that they used to rely on tele-radiology services that took about two hours to get readings of routine scans and about half-an-hour to one hour to get reading on emergency cases. While the doctors too are self sufficient to handle such delays, but a quick reading can make a huge difference. The matters related to strokes and concussions are highly sensitive, as millions of brain cells are dying per minute. Even a delay of a few minutes can cause body functions like walking or talking to shut down. Therefore, Qure.ai decided to integrate its qER technology in Baptist Christian Hospital, a 130-bed secondary care hospital by non-profit Emmanuel Hospital Association of New Delhi. How does the qER actually work? Warrier expl<keyword id="6355999" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ai">ai</keyword>ned that there are two parts to their artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled deep learning solution — the gateway and the application programming interface (API). The gateway are the x-ray machines and the computed tomography (CT) scan machines that collect the inputs from the healthcare centres and transfer it to the cloud. The API, then, scans, processes and creates a radiology report based on their algorithm. Notably, the company anonymises all the data before sending it from gateway to API to maintain users’ privacy. Baptist Christian Hospital has been using the technology since March-April 2021 and has been diagnosing about 100 patients on a monthly basis. Dr Webster noted that the technology has enabled them to get the test results much faster. “The report comes through two systems. One our original PACS system, a system through which we see whatever CT images we have done within our hospitals. The analysed reports are uploaded into the system also, and one more good thing is that they have integrated with messaging app Telegram. So whenever a CT for a patient is done, it comes with an alert on Telegram. In that manner, it is like you are pushing a patient for CT scan and by the time they are back, you get an alert on your phone with an analysis on their condition.” <div type="image" title="A small hospital in a remote corner of Assam is using AI to detect strokes in tea planters" msid="84194183" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;AI at Baptist Christian Hospital&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Dr. Pooja Rao, co-founder and head of research and development (R&amp;D) at Qure.ai, emphasised that the data is accurate. The company has trained their deep learning algorithms with a large as well as diverse data bank sourced from research labs. The company also publishes its accuracy rate on a regular basis, peer review publications and keeps updating its technology often. Qure.ai has received US’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Europe’s CE certifications to validate this technology. Qure.ai has been using the same technology, with few variations, to detect tuberculosis and lung infections as well. Even the <keyword id="6356311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Health-Organisation">World Health Organisation</keyword> (WHO) has <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/340255/9789240022676-eng.pdf">validated</a> that Qure.AI’s tuberculosis diagnostic software can replace human specialists in its annual Integrated Tuberculosis Screening Guidelines. It also partnered with British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/astrazeneca-qure-ai-to-bring-ai-solutions-for-early-detection-of-lung-cancer/articleshow/79609309.cms">early detection</a> of lung cancer. The use cases of the technology can be further expanded to diagnose other health issues by training the algorithm, Dr Rao added. AI can essentially aid medical staff Over the last year, the company’s qXR technology is also being used to detect COVID-19 across the world and also carried out operations in remote parts of Maharashtra as well as Jharkhand. CEO Warrier added that Qure.ai’s lung X-Ray system, when coupled with other metrics oxygen saturation, temperature and more, can be used to diagnose COVID-19 in areas where RT-PCR tests are not available. He noted that AI can provide an alternative to a trained resource. <div type="image" title="A small hospital in a remote corner of Assam is using AI to detect strokes in tea planters" msid="84194361" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Qure.AI&amp;#39;s COVID-19 detection mechanism&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Qure.ai’s CEO Warrier noted that the value of such AI solutions is much higher in lower income geographies and countries. He noted that even In India, the quality of care is much higher in big hospitals like Apollo and others, as they have quality radiologists. The quality of healthcare gets even better in high income countries. “The value [for such AI solutions] for a place like Assam is very different because they don't have a radiologist on duty and for them interpreting that scan is very challenging. You are basically asking somebody who's not a radiologist to interpret the scan and correspondingly act on that patient during surgery, administering a blood thinner or something like that. The value in Assam, or Africa or Southeast Asian countries is tremendous because we can help those non-radiologists interpret x-rays or CT scans without necessarily getting radiologist input, ” he added. A team of researchers led by Professor Alastair Denniston from the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom conducted a study in 2019, to determine whether AI can diagnose illnesses as effectively as healthcare professionals. The study <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326460#AI-on-a-par-with-healthcare-professionals">noted</a> that AI correctly diagnoses diseases in 87% of the cases, whereas detection by healthcare professionals yielded an 86% accuracy rate. The specificity for deep learning algorithms was 93%, compared with humans’ at 91%. Qure.ai has raised about $16 million to date from Sequoia Capital India and MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia. It has marked its presence across 450 sites across 40 countries over the years. It also has its presence across Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and few other Indian cities, but its head CT scan feature is only being used in Assam’s Baptist Christian Hospital at the moment. *The quotes have been edited for clarity of language SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/groovy-earned-15-crores-just-by-selling-juices-during-covid-19-pandemic/articleshow/84166874.cms">A startup that earned ₹15 crore selling juices in India’s suburbs is now looking at international expansion</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/failure-to-pivot-covid-19-blues-force-amazon-backed-shuttl-to-look-for-a-buyer/articleshow/84056797.cms">Failure to pivot, COVID-19 blues force Amazon-backed Shuttl to look for a buyer</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/indian-businesses-have-raised-about-4-1-billion-of-capital-in-the-month-of-june-2021-across-121-deals/slidelist/84174428.cms">Fogg, Byju’s and PharmEasy grabbed the biggest investments of June 2021— here’s more</a>

A small hospital in a remote corner of Assam is using AI to detect strokes in tea planters

Guwahati, Mar 24 () The Assam tea industry onTuesday sought exemption of gardens from the lockdownannounced by the state government to contain the spread of thenovel coronavirus.The Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations'Assam Valley branch convenor Abhijit Sharma said thatnecessary plant protection measures through spraying of pestrepellents to tea bushes and irrigation are essential.In the absence of such measures, there will bepermanent damage to the tea bushes, which will aggravatelosses of production and productivity, Sharma, who is alsosecretary of Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association, said."We, therefore, would like to make a humble submissionto allow the tea gardens to undertake spraying and irrigationoperations in the tea sections and the concerned executives,staff and workers to work in such operations during the periodof closure as announced," Sharma said in a letter to theprincipal secretary of the labour welfare department.The state government had announced that Assam will beunder lockdown from 6 pm on Tuesday till March 31 in the wakeof the novel coronavirus pandemic.In view of scanty rainfall at present, it is alsorequired to continue irrigation in the tea gardens, Sharmasaid.The Tea Research Association (TRA), in a separateletter, has also said that the essential plant protectionmeasures are necessary for the productivity of tea gardens. DGBDC BDC

Coronavirus: Assam tea industry seeks exemption from lockdown

Kolkata, Mar 7 () The Indian Tea Association onSaturday said the Assam government's decision to provideorthodox tea subsidy of Rs 7 per kg will boost exports of thebeverage.The apex body of the tea industry in the country saidthe subsidy on machinery purchase to manufacturing units forproducing orthodox tea will motivate them to produce suchvariety.The Assam government made these announcements in thestate budget for 2020-21 fiscal, presented on Friday.The northeastern state, the largest producer of tea inthe country, has also allowed interest subvention of 3 percent on all term loans and working capital advances which willlead to lower cost of fund and subsequently, encouragemodernisation of factories.ITA secretary general Arijit Raha said Assam producesnearly 70 million kgs of ortodox tea, the highest in thecountry."Now, exports of tea from India is virtually stagnantat around 250 million kgs. Orthodox tea has wide acceptance inthe overseas markets. If the producers manufacture moreorthodox tea, the probability of increasing exports willrise," Raha told .He said these steps will go a long way in revival ofthe tea industry which has been reeling under financial stressdue to increasing cost of production and stagnant pricerealisations for the last several years.Meanwhile, the Joint Forum of Assam Tea Planters'Association, North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) andBharatiya Cha Parishad said that the state government'sdecision to withdraw agricultural income tax for three yearswill greatly help the industry.Adviser to NETA Bidyanand Barkakoty said the industryalso appeals to the government to include other varities oftea such as green, purple, yellow and Oolong under the Rs 7per kg subsidy scheme. DCBDC BDC

Assam govt sops to tea sector to boost exports: ITA

Guwahati, Apr 24 () The Assam tea industry hasestimated a production loss of 80 million kg due to thelockdown, and conducted an analysis to determine its strengthand future opportunities to overcome the coronavirus crisis,an industry body said on Friday.The North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) has done theanalysis to identify its weaknesses and threats to actefficiently in the crisis period, an official said."The SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities andthreats) analysis was done so as to examine both positive andnegative aspects of the impact on the Assam tea industry,"NETA Adviser Bidyananda Barkakoty said.Tea production is seasonal, and about 60 per cent ofthe crop in Assam is harvested in July, August, September andOctober, he said, adding that this is "a strength of theindustry" as the production is expected to continue in thepeak seasons.He, however, said the Assam industry has estimated "80million kg production and around Rs 1,200 crore revenue lossdue to the lockdown"."These are our weaknesses. The production in March andthis month was hit, even though the operations at gardens with50 per cent workforce resumed from April 15. Planers need todo skiffing of overgrown leaves and the production in May willbe impacted to some extent," Barkakoty said.He said it will take some more time for the supplychain to stabilise.Describing tea as "an immunity booster", he said theconsumption of the beverage is unlikely to be affected infuture, and there is "a possibility of increasing exports toChina"."It is time to explore new markets for exporting teaas the product has multiple health benefits. There is anopportunity for tea producers to sell tea directly throughonline platforms," he said.Exports to traditional markets may get affected due tothe coronavirus pandemic, he added. ESBBDC BDC

Lockdown: Assam tea industry estimates 80 million kg loss, weighs opportunities to tide over crisis

Kolkata-based Te-A-Me Teas, a tea company, has sent a huge consignment of 6,000 bags of famous <keyword id="1434396" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Assam-green-tea">Assam green tea</keyword> to US presidential candidate <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword>, along with a message that it is never too late to "cleanse yourself". 
 
"Dear Mr Trump, namaste from India, we are sending you lots and lots of natural green tea. It fights against harmful free radicals. It helps purify mind and body and regain a healthy balance. It has also proven to make people smarter. Please Mr Trump drink the tea. For your sake, for America's sake, for the world's sake," Kolkata-based Te-A-Me Teas said in a video, explaining the thought behind sending green tea consignments to Trump Towers in NYC. 
 
"The message is simple: Mr Trump, it's never too late to cleanse yourself," the company added. "Donald Trump has the whole world worried... we can't stop him, but maybe we can change him." 
 
The company did not declare the cost of this consignment, which is sufficient for four years, if Trump drinks three cups a day. 
 
"We believe that green tea with all its goodness can help Mr Trump and in turn benefit his country and the world at large," an official of the company added. 
 
"If he needs more, we'll be happy to provide. Green tea has been proven to fight against harmful free radicals and cleanse the mind and bodies, helping one regain a healthy balance," he said. 
 
<a href="http://shoebat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/10-donald-trump-debate.w750.h560.2x.jpg">Image source</a>

An Indian firm has sent 6000 bags of Assam green tea to Donald Trump to ‘cleanse’ himself

The <keyword id="1795892" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="specialty-tea">specialty tea</keyword> company, <keyword id="2379717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Teabox">Teabox</keyword>, has raised an undisclosed round of financing from <keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword>, former chief of the <keyword id="6355725" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tata-Group">Tata Group</keyword>. 
 
The additional capital will help Teabox to expand to other markets around the world. "Ratan Tata needs no introduction for the kind of strategic direction and commitment he brings to the table. We have grown up admiring and respecting his vision and business acumen on scaling the Tata group to a global level. His direct guidance and experience in the tea industry will surely help us grow Teabox to be the first global premium tea brand from India," said Kaushal Dugar, founder and CEO of Teabox. 
 Teabox has already raised $7 million till date. It raised $6 million in Series A <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> in March last year. The <keyword id="138263" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="startup">startup</keyword> sources premium teas directly from the plantations in Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri and Nepal, and ships them to customers. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

You Searched For "Assam tea" and got 8 results

Storm in a cup: India's tea production falls by 6.18% in November

PTI

Increase in tea prices to offset impact of wage rate hike in WB, Assam: ICRA

PTI

A small hospital in a remote corner of Assam is using AI to detect strokes in tea planters

Kritti Bhalla

Coronavirus: Assam tea industry seeks exemption from lockdown

PTI

Assam govt sops to tea sector to boost exports: ITA

PTI

Lockdown: Assam tea industry estimates 80 million kg loss, weighs opportunities to tide over crisis

PTI

An Indian firm has sent 6000 bags of Assam green tea to Donald Trump to ‘cleanse’ himself

BI India Bureau

Teabox raises undisclosed round of funding from Ratan Tata

BI India Bureau

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