Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman 2023

• The "Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman 2023" was recently held by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to recognise the female leaders in the rural water and sanitation industry.
• Jal Shakti Abhiyan - Catch the Rain 2023 was also introduced at the ceremony.

What are the Main Points

• To recognise and highlight the leadership and participation of women at the grassroots level in the effort to create a "Swachh Sujal Bharat" this event was held in the days leading up to International Women's Day (8 March).
• The "Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman 2023" was awarded to 36 women WASH Champions.

• They received recognition for their remarkable and model work in the grassroots implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Swachh Bharat Mission - Gramin (SBM-G), and Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA-CTR).
• The Honorable President honoured the women who have excelled in their fields and made significant contributions to the National Flagship Missions, including water conservation, Har Ghar Jal Villages, and ODF Plus Model Villages.
• The President of India launched 'Catch the Rain-2023' as part of efforts to turn the conservation of water into a national campaign in the run-up to the monsoon season.
• Theme 2023: Drinking Water Source Sustainability.
• Catch the rain as it falls, wherever it falls is the tagline
• A Jan Andolan campaign called "Catch the Rain" aims to persuade all interested parties to build rainwater collection systems.
• The National Water Mission (NWM), under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, is in charge of executing the campaign.

Both rural and urban areas of the nation participate in the campaign.

Indian Tea Industry

• India has implemented many measures to increase production to develop a specialised brand for Indian tea and guarantee the well-being of the families involved in the tea sector.
• It is projected that Indian tea exports will reach 95% of the US$ 883 million goals established during 2022–2023 despite several geopolitical, geoeconomic, and logistical challenges.

Historical Perspective

• China was the first country in the world to manufacture tea, and many of the tools used to make tea around the world were developed from traditional Chinese techniques.
• As a result of British colonial India's need to import tea from China, which severely strained the nation's finances, the East India Company constructed tea plantations in Assam.
• By the 1850s, India was one of the top tea-producing countries in the world. With independence, local tea brands were made accessible to the entire population as a beverage.
• The East India Company lost its commercial monopoly with China with the Charter Act of 1833. Under William Bentinck, the Governor-General of India at the time, the Tea Committee was founded.

Status of Tea Industry

• India, the second-largest tea producer in the world
• Assam and West Bengal create the majority of the nation's yearly tea production, which will account for 83% of the total in the northern region of India in 2021–22.
• Assam's two tea-growing areas belong to the Assam valley and Cachar.
• The three main tea-producing regions in West Bengal are the Dooars, Terai, and Darjeeling.
• The biggest producing states are Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, which together account for 17% of the nation's overall production.
• For the fiscal year 2020–2021, India produced around 1,283 million kg of tea.
• 1.16 million people are employed directly and an equivalent number is involved indirectly in the Indian Tea Industry.
• The Tea Board of India oversees all the tea production in India.
• One of the businesses brought under the authority of the Union Government by a Parliamentary Act is the tea industry.
• India is one of the top tea-drinking nations in the world, with domestic consumers consuming 80% of the nation's tea production.

Initiatives by the Government to Grow the Tea Industry

• The Tea Board of India launched a programme called "Promotion for packaged Tea of Indian Origin" to assist Indian exporters in consistently marketing Indian-origin teas in foreign markets.
• The programme offers assistance with promotional efforts, including up to 25% of the cost reimbursement, exhibition in international department stores, creation of product literature and websites, and up to 25% of the cost of inspection fees reimbursed.
• The Tea Board also offers domestic exporters financial aid so they can take part in international fairs and exhibitions.
• The objective is to give exporters a platform to display their goods at international events for promotion and to make it easier to create trading opportunities.

Tea Board of India

• The Indian Tea Cess Bill, which was approved in the year 1903, is when the Tea Board of India first came into existence.
• Under Section 4 of the Tea Act of 1953, the current Tea Board was established.
• Under the direction of the Ministry of Trade, it serves as a statutory body of the Central Government.
• The Board is made up of 31 members, including the chairman, who are chosen from among members of parliament, tea growers, traders, and consumers as well as government representatives from the major tea-producing states and trade unions.
• Kolkata is the HQ
• Every three years, the Board is reconstituted. The Tea Board previously had offices in Kuwait and Egypt. These two offices, however, were moved to Dubai.

Export Data

• India ranks among the top 5 global exporters of tea, accounting for 10% of global exports.
• In the year 2021, the total value of tea exports from India was roughly USD 687.9 million.
• India sends tea abroad to more than 25 different nations.
• Some of the top countries importing tea from India are China, Russia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
• India exported 201 million kg of tea in total between 2021 and 2022.
• Black tea accounts for around 96% of all tea exports from India and is the most common type.
• Black tea, regular tea, green tea, herbal tea, masala tea, and lemon tea are among the varieties of tea exported through India.

Issues that the Tea Industry is Facing

• The main problem facing the Indian tea industry right now is overproduction. India produces more tea than is needed to meet domestic and international demand.
• Black tea is widely produced in China but is not eaten there. China is consequently attempting to push to sell the total quantity of excess black tea. As a result, Indian tea exports might be in danger.
• Another risk to Indian export is that, with the introduction of the six-digit origin code for tea, India is no longer the country of origin following some value addition. The new product re-enters the Indian market after a minor value enhancement.

Way Forward

• Due to the immense production capacity and the large number of people it employs in the northeastern regions, the Indian tea industry has numerous opportunities to grow.

The most important requirement for a very labour-centric industry like tea plantations is a fully transparent, sustainable model that strikes a good balance between the organic and modernisation approach.

Forest Certification in India

• In recent years, deforestation has elevated to the status of a highly sensitive worldwide issue, necessitating increased demand for forest certification.
• Deforestation has recently become a highly sensitive issue due to climate change, necessitating the need for Forest Certification to control the importation and sale of items derived from forests.
• During the Glasgow climate conference in 2021, more than 100 nations committed to halting deforestation by 2030 and beginning its reversal.

About Forest Certification

• The independent third-party audits that started the three-decade-old worldwide certification business were intended to examine that management sustainably.
• It is a system for tracking, labelling, and monitoring non-timber forest products, wood and pulp products, and timber from forests.
• It is a method through which the effectiveness of management from environmental, social, and economic viewpoints is assessed in comparison to a number of established standards.
• The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certifications (PEFC) have each created one of the two main worldwide standards. The cost of FSC certification is higher and it is more in demand.
• They do not take part in the auditing and evaluation of the procedures; those tasks are handled by certifying bodies approved by FSC or PEFC.

The Certification's Importance

• To increase their market accessibility to western markets, such as the European Union and the USA, forest-based sectors in India, particularly those for paper, boards, plywood, medium-density fiberboard, furniture, and handicrafts, have been campaigning for forest certification.
• The certification programme aims to enhance India's Forest Management System, which is frequently criticised for a number of problems plaguing the industry, including infringements on forest rights, degradation of the environment, loss of biodiversity, encroachments, a lack of labour, etc.
• There are two different certifications: Chain of Custody and Forest Management (FM) (CoC).
• The purpose of CoC certification is to ensure that a forest product, such as lumber, can be tracked from its place of origin to its point of sale.

India-Specific Standard for Certification

• Only treated wood, not raw wood, is permitted for export from India. In actuality, the amount of lumber taken from Indian forests is insufficient to satisfy domestic demand for buildings, furniture, and other goods.
• Every year, India's forests provide roughly five million cubic metres of wood. Trees outside of forests supply 85% of the demand for wood and wood products (ToF). 10% or so is imported.
• India spends between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 crore annually on wood imports.
• New certification criteria are being established for the sustainable management of ToF because of their significance.
• ToF certification is currently available through PEFC, and in 2022 FSC developed criteria for India that also included ToF certification.

Industry of Forest Certification

• The independent third-party audits that started the three-decade-old worldwide certification business were intended to examine that management sustainably.
• The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certifications (PEFC) have each created one of the two main worldwide standards. The cost of FSC certification is higher and it is more in demand.
• They do not take part in the auditing and evaluation of the procedures; those tasks are handled by certifying bodies approved by FSC or PEFC.
• Instead of requiring the use of its standards, PEFC supports the "national" standards of any nation if they are compatible with its own.

Forest Certification in India

• In India, the forest certification sector has been active for the past 15 years.
• Only one state, Uttar Pradesh, currently has certified forests.
• The criteria have been prepared by the New Delhi-based organisation Network for Certification and Protection of Forests (NCCF).
• Only treated wood, not raw wood, is permitted for export from India. In India, there is a yearly demand for 150–170 million cubic metres of wood, including 90–100 million cubic metres of unprocessed wood. The remainder is primarily used to satisfy the demand for paper and pulp.

Every year, India's forests provide roughly five million cubic metres of wood. Trees outside of forests provide over 85% of the demand for wood and wood products.