Reacting over the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia’s statement on Rajya Sabha yesterday regarding the issue of declaring Tea as National Drink of India, Bidyananda Barkakoty, Chairman, North Eastern Tea Association today stated in a press release that declaration of tea as the national drink can in no way be termed as "at the cost of coffee". Was the declaration of mango as the national fruit at the cost of apple or other fruits? Was the declaration of tiger as the national animal at the cost of bear or other animals? Did declaration of hockey as the national sport in any way affect cricket, football and other sports? Declaring tea as the national drink of our country will in no way affect coffee or other beverages and they will always have their own respective market shares.
Further justifying the demand of declaring Tea as National Drink, he said that as per the ORG India Tea Consumption Study 2008 83% of households in India consume tea. Moreover, as per the same study, the penetration of tea in the Indian household is in the range of 96% - 99% in both urban & rural areas of India. Read more
Source : www.assamtimes.org
