Chiefs for Coffee and Tea Boards Appointed

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointments of Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah and M S Boje Gowda as chairmen of the Tea Board and the Coffee Board, respectively.
Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah is a leading tea association industrialist who was once a banker in the US. Bezboruah is also the current head of the Tea Research Association (TRA) and has previously served as the chairman of Assam Tea Planters’ Association.
Bezboruah will be the first non-IAS to head the Tea Board of India. Bezboruah’s tenure will last until November 1, 2018. As per the recently released gazette notification of the Union government, all agricultural boards under the ministry of commerce will be headed by a non-IAS and industry person. However, the post of vice-chairman will be filled by an IAS officer.
The Tea Board of India headquartered in Kolkata is largely entrusted with regulating tea cultivation and export of tea. The tea industry is plagued with the higher cost of production, social responsibilities, labour problems and wage woes.
Gowda is a renowned coffee grower and will be in the post until December 14, 2018. The Bengaluru-based Coffee Board works for promoting the interest of the coffee growers of the country.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017