The Government of India broke with tradition in May by naming the first coffee grower to chair the Coffee Board of India and the first tea planter to chair the Tea Board of India.
In announcing the appointment, the ministry of commerce and industry stated that the executive powers formerly held by the chair will be transferred to an executive deputy chairman, a position that remains vacant.
Shri Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah, 58, replaces interim tea board chair Shri Santosh Sarangi, a career Indian administrative service (IAS) officer serving since last May. Bezboruah will serve until Nov. 1, 2018. The new chairman’s duties will be more titular, according to knowledgeable observers.
M. S. Boje Gowda, a prominent coffee grower from Bangalore, was appointed chairmen of the coffee board in the same posting. Gowda will serve until December 2018.
Rajen Baruah, managing director of the Heritage Tea Company in Assam called the appointment “one of the boldest and most practical decisions taken by the government of India… as only a tea planter would understand the practical problems and ground realities that the tea industry is facing today.”
“With ever-increasing overheads and tea prices stagnating, only a seasoned planter would be able to pull the industry out of this morass,” he said.
Bezboruah told reporters “it is a huge responsibility. I hope I can work for the interest of all stakeholders and, also all tea-growing states. But of course, other things being equal, the interest of Assam will be a priority for me.”