Context:
Recently, the government is going to introduce a coffee promotion bill to modernize the functioning of the Coffee Board, promote exports, and support the development of the domestic market.
Relevance:
GS II: Polity and Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Coffee promotion bill
- Need to replace the old law
- Present status of Coffee Production in India
About Coffee promotion bill
- It intends to improve the Coffee Board of India’s operations.
- It would cover a number of Coffee Board functional areas, including support for production, research, extension, and quality improvement, promotion of coffee, and grower skill development.
- The Coffee Board’s mission originally excluded many of these operations, but they now need to be added to its powers and functions.
Significance:
- With the growth of the coffee industry, there would be opportunities for business entrepreneurship and the development of jobs in every area of the coffee value chain, from production to consumption.
- Furthermore, buyers will receive coffee of a quality that rivals that of other nations.
- Additionally, it will defend the rights of the workforce in coffee villages, processing facilities, and plantations.
- By streamlining documentation and procedures, it will encourage ease of doing business. For example, it will replace the current five-year validity of the Registration cum Membership Certificate (RCMC) with a one-time exporter registration and introduce a one-time registration of curing units.
- The Bill will provide a time-limited process for granting the Registration Certificate.
Need to replace the old law
- The earlier act was almost 80 years old and was obsolete in today’s time.
- Its provisions were relevant to that time.
- Also, currently, many rules and regulations, especially those pertaining to the marketing of coffee, are redundant.
- Over the past 10 years, there has been a paradigm shift in the way coffee is grown, marketed, and consumed.
Present status of Coffee Production in India
- Approximately 3% of the world’s coffee production in 2020 will come from India, one of the top 10 coffee-producing nations.
- India produces two types of coffee: Arabica and Robusta.
- Due to its mild fragrant flavour, Arabica coffee has a greater market value than Robusta coffee.
- According to The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics, India is the eighth largest exporter of coffee by volume.
- Climate:
- Coffee plants demand a hot, humid climate with temperatures ranging from 15 to 28 °C and 150 to 250 cm of rainfall.
- It is typically cultivated under shady trees because it cannot handle cold, snowfall, high temperatures exceeding 30°C, or intense sunlight.
- The southern region of India is where coffee is primarily grown.
- Karnataka is the largest producer accounting for about 70% of the total coffee production in India.
-Source: The Hindu
