5 th India Tea Forum - NexGen Tea Conference Innovation, Value addition & Teapreneurs Tea Tasting Mini Expo 7 8 September 2018 Hotel Barsana Siliguri

Transcription

1 Mr S. K. Saria Managing Director Gopaldhara Tea Estate Mr. S. K. Saria was born in Pokhariabong, Darjeeling in 1955, graduated in B. Com (Hons) College from St Xavier s College. He was a member of Tea Board for 2 years; he has been the Chairman of the Siliguri Tea Auction Committee for 2 years; he is also the Council member of Tea Research Association since 2007 and he was the Chairman of Engineering & Manufacturing Committee of TRA from 2007 to Mr Saria was managing Gopaldhara and Rohini Tea Estate, Darjeeling and he served as the Managing Director of Soongachi and New Glencoe Tea Co and presently, Chairman of North Bengal Committee of Tea Research Association.

2 Mr Aniruddha Som Senior Consultant Teesta City Mr. Aniruddha Som is a post graduate in Food Technology from the FAO, International Food Technology Training Centre in CFTRI, Mysore, and joined Duncan Brothers as a Management Trainee in North Bengal, he worked with Coca Cola Group in New Delhi as the Taster cum Quality Control Head & at Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Chennai. After completing close to three decades of service with HUL, which included being the recipient of the Directors Award in the year 2007 for Excellence and Outstanding Achievement, Mr Som moved to the Dooars region, as the Head of the Instant Tea Production Division, a 100% EOU with the Goodricke Group Limited, a UK based Plantation Company. His vast arena of experience coupled with his professional qualification and knowledge, which brought him to Mohani Tea Leaves Pvt Limited and was stationed in North Bengal as their Business Head, at present he s a Self Employed Senior Consultant with Teesta City. Mr Som core competencies are Tasting, Sourcing of Tea & Coffee & so also Blending of Tea, Conventional/Instant Coffee.

3 Mr Raj Basu Chair CII North Bengal Zonal Tourism Panel & Partner, Help Tourism Pvt Ltd Mr Supratim Basu also known as Mr Raj Basu, popularly called the Tourism Gandhi of India is the Initiator of the Rural Tourism movement for sustainable development and Cross-Border Tourism movement for Peace. He is also known for launching the Ecotourism and Responsible Tourism movement in the Indian sub-continent. He has been the prime resource for the development of ecotourism policy framework in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Bhutan. He is also the official advisory member for several Government and Non-Government organizations of East and Northeast India on tourism and wildlife conservation. As the Founder of Help Tourism in 1991, he and his organization have received several National and International awards, he is also the Secretary General of Indo-Bhutan Friendship Association (IBFA), Siliguri/North Bengal chapter, Secretary of Indo-Myanmar Fraternal Alliance, Imphal, Manipur, Convener, Heritage Conservation & Rural Tourism at Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT), Adviser-Tourism to Government of Sikkim and Secretary General for DHR India Support Group (DHR or Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a World Heritage Site). Mr Basu has contributed to CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) through his suggestions in several tourism policies matters and development papers for the State of West Bengal and Northeast India and as the Chairman of the Cross-Border Committee for ATOAI (Adventure Tour Operators Association of India), lobbied to make East and Northeast India the Tourism Gateway to India. He is also the Founder of the first Tourism NGO of India, ACT or Association for Conservation & Tourism, which too started working in 1991, but was officially registered in working year, under the societies act. He has also initiated several Homestay Training programs in villages and Eco-Guide Training programs in the Protected Areas and villages of Northeast India and West Bengal and had also created several Barefoot community leaders in sustainable development from the rural background.

4 Mr Prabir Seal Past Chairman CII North Bengal Zonal & Managing Director, Seal & Company Pvt Ltd Mr. Prabir Seal is the Chairman and Managing Director of Four Private Limited Companies Seal Tea Exports Pvt. Ltd., Seal & Co. Pvt. Ltd., Moni Tea Pvt. Ltd., & Dyuti Hotels Resorts Pvt. Ltd. Sri Seal born on 11 January Mr Seal is a renowned industrialist and is presently a Governing body member of North Bengal Tea Auction Committee, Siliguri. He was an elected President of North Bengal Tea Producers Association (NBTPA) continuously for Five times and now as an Advisor of the Association. Mr Seal served as a Past Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) North Bengal and also as an Executive member of Terai Indian Planter s Association (TIPA). He was previously a special invitee member of Tea Board of India. Shri Seal has remained the President of the Rotary Club of Siliguri Midtown. He is a respected Paul Harris Fellow and was elected as the Assist. Governor of Rotary, Dist- 3240, in the year Mr Seal is fond of literature and is a prominent poet. He has been awarded in appreciation of his literary contribution at the Kolkata Press Club. His works have been published in the much anticipated Desh magazine of Ananda Bazar Partika and in other different foreign magazines. He is also a Social activist and have authored two books for which he has been awarded by the Uttar Bangla Patrika.

5 Mr Kamal Kumar Mittal Founder Chairman CII North Bengal Zonal Council & Managing Director, PCM Group of Industries Kamal Kumar Mittal an alumnus of St. Xavier s College, Kolkata is the Chairman and Managing Director of the PCM Group of Industries. An Iconic figure, Mr. Mittal holds several key positions on various regulatory and professional boards. He initiated PCM journey from PCC Electric Pole manufacturing into Railway Sleeper and further into Steel, real estate, hospitality, manufacturing, tea production and plantation, power generation and media. Mr Mittal s achievements have been acknowledged at national and international levels. In his career span of over 30 years Mr. Mittal has been a role model for many and it comes as no surprise that he has been awarded the prestigious CAPEXIL and Entrepreneur of the year award by the Hon ble Commerce Minister, Government of India. Mr. Mittal was also the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) of North Bengal Chapter, Chairman of the North Bengal Tax Free Zone Committee and he acts an advisor to the Regional Advisory Committee of Indirect Taxes and the Regional Provident Fund Committee. He is the Chairman of Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Siliguri the premier Training Institute of India.

6 Mr Kamal Kishore Tewari Chairman CII North Bengal & Director, K Tea Corporation Mr Kamal Kishore Tewari was born in 14 August 1954 at Uttar Pradesh, he graduated in the year 1974 from Bhawanipur Co. Education society college, Kolkata. Mr Tewari is an active & is one of the senior CII member. He is presently serving as the Chairman of CII North Bengal Zonal Council. Mr Tewari joined the International CII delegation to Russia and also took part in the numerous CII roadshows to Bhutan, Myanmar & Nepal. He s in the Tea business since 1976 and has offices in Kolkata & Guwahati. He s the Past President of Siliguri Tea Traders Association, Past Vice-Chairman of Federation of all India Tea Traders Association, Past Vice-Chairman of North Bengal Tea Auction Committee, Jalpaiguri, Past Chairman of All India Tea Warehousing Committee, Past President of Siliguri Tea Warehousing Association & Governing body members of Siliguri Tea Auction Committee.

7 Mr Ravi Agarwal Chair, Tea Panel, CII NB Zonal Council & Director, Hind Associate Ravi Agarwal is a well-known name in the Tea sector in India. He is the proprietor of Hind Associates engaged in tea trading. His father late Sri Paliramji Agarwal was a renowned figure in North Bengal and the founder President of Siliguri Tea Traders Association (STTA). Following his father s footsteps Ravi become the secretary of STTA in 1987 and was instrumental in the formation of the Federation of all Tea Traders Association and went on to become the Chairman in 1996 and is ex-member of the Tea Board. Ravi Agarwal has handled several duties and responsibilities as an Honourable member of several committees and Convener of all the India Tea Forums including North East Tea Expo, initiatives related to Tea. He has achieved number of foot tapping milestones in his career span. He has been the chairman of Siliguri Tea Auction Committee from and has held the position of Vice President of North Bengal Tea Producers Association. He is a committee member of the North Bengal Tea Auction Committee, Jalpaiguri. Besides Tea he is on the board of H.B. Vidyapith a co-educational school and North Bengal Council of the Disabled. He is also an active Rotary and Past President of the Rotary Club of Siliguri.

8 Mr Anand Agarwal Vice Chairman CII NB Zonal Council & Director, Chuniajhora Tea Company Born in December 1859, Mr Anand Kumar Agarwal completed his graduation in Mechanical engineering in Mr Agarwal is an active CII member since He is presently serving as the Vice Chairman of CII North Bengal Zonal Council. He has been actively involved and led the CII team in the success of all the editions index of India Tea Forum, a flagship project of CII North Bengal Zonal Council. Mr Agarwal has been the past president of Siliguri Jaycas & he s associated with Rotary Club of Siliguri since He has been the President of North Bengal Tea Producers Welfare Association for 3 years, the only Association for the Bought Leaves Factories in North Bengal and has served as a seller member of the governing body for four years of Siliguri Tea Auction Committee. Mr Agarwal have business interest in Tea, Medicine & Agro-chemicals.

9 Mr. Bharat C Arya Chairman, FAITTA & Director J. V. Gokul Co & Pvt. Ltd Kolkata Mr. Arya holds a master s degree in Geology from I.I.T., Kharagpur. He joined J.V. Gokul & Co., a leading Tea Export Firm in He became the Head of GOKUL s tea operations as CEO in the year 2002 and subsequently as Director. Mr. Arya was the chairman of Calcutta Tea Traders Association during and an active member of Export Committee formed by Tea Board. He served as the Chairman of Indian Tea Exporters Association and as the President of Tea Packeters Association. Mr Arya is presently the Chairman of Federation of All India Tea Traders Association (FAITTA).

10 Mr Rishit Patel CEO and Director Tea Lounge & Cafes Ahmedabad Mr Rishit Patel completed his Graduation from Hertfordshire College, Hertfordshire, U.K. where he specialized in Law. He was the first to introduce the Tea Lounge and Cafe concept in Vadodara. As Vadodara is frequented by NRIs from all over the World, he received numerous accolades from across the world, for his achievement in setting a new trend in Vadodara. Emboldened by this success, he ventured into more Lounges and Cafes in Ahmedabad and Surat. Besides the existing cafes, 2013 saw a demand from franchisees to set up Cafes in 10 different locations in Gujarat and neighbouring States of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In the footsteps of his grandfather Late Shri Manibhai, he does not take CSR as a compulsion but a natural part of business. He has initiated Child Labour Policy at Belseri Tea Estate. At Belseri Tea Estate he is committed to protecting children from child labour. He strongly believes that the future of children and that of the communities in which they live is best served through education, not child labour. His policies are about working in accordance with economic, labour and environmental standards, which includes community development.

11 Mr Yaduveer Singh Director (Developments & Innovations) Chai Point, Bangalore Mr Yaduveer Singh have completed supply chain specialist course from IIT Delhi and MBA from Symbiosis Pune and now leads the new products development and innovation function as Director: Development and Innovations in Chai Point, Bangalore. In his role, he is driving various product innovations and strategic developments. He is associated with Chai Point since last 6 years, a stage of newly born start-up. In his previous role, Mr Singh was leading procurement and supply Chain too. Before Chai Point, he worked with renowned food and beverage company like Barista Coffee and Costa Coffee. Been a part of food and beverage/ FMCF industry since last years.

12 Mr Harkirat Singh Sidhu Consulting Program Coordinator India Sustainable Landscapes & Livelihoods, Sustainable Agriculture Division Rainforest Alliance, Delhi Mr Harkirat Singh Sidhu have spent over three decades in Plantations, from a fresh trainee out of college to heading the business. Worked closely with all stakeholders and established and set standards for field & factory work, and dealing with workforce and communities. Mr Sindhu have started his work in Jokai Assam Tea Co. and then Unilever Plantations, UK and have headed the Unilever s plantations in North East India. He has worked with plantations in North & South India, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Iran, Bangladesh, China and Indonesia & joined Rainforest Alliance in 2012 as the Consulting Program Coordinator (India). Excelled in Innovations at all levels during his career. Latest innovations Integrated Weed Management (IWM) & The Whole Ecosystem approach to Pest Management. For the IWM innovation, a manager in Sri Lanka who adopted it, has got an Innovation Award from Dilma Tea Company. Excelled in Innovations at all levels during the career. He was the first to introduce the tea industry to Computers (1982), first to introduce the tea industry to Vermiculture (1991), first to cross 300 Kgs output in a Tea Drier (1975) & get lowest Fuel Oil consumption & designed the most innovative Mechanical Harvesting techniques to improve quality & productivity.

13 Mr Bijay Gopal Chakraborty President Confederation of All India Small Tea Growers Association (CISTA) Mr Bijay Gopal Chakraborty is the Founder and Proprietor of Tirupati plantation carry experiences on tea since last 27 years. Mr Chakraborty, holds degree in B.sc Hons. (Botany) LLB and a Post Graduate Diploma in Tea Management North Bengal University. He plays an instrumental role for the development and growth of the small tea grower s community. Being a mentor, he has experiences to promote cluster approaching towards the small tea growers by forming societies (Self-help groups) for sustainable livelihood. He served as the General Secretary of Jalpaiguri District Small Tea Grower s Association. Mr Chakraborty is the Editor of the Bengali Bi Monthly tea related magazine Duti Pata Ekti Kuri. He was also a member of prestigious committees like Agriculture, Manufacturing & Engineering Committee of Tea Research Association (TRA) & Tea Board Special Invitee (Permanent).

14 Mr Ramesh Chand Agarwal Managing Director Mohani Tea Leaves Pvt Ltd, Kanpur Mr Ramesh Chand Agarwal is the CEO of Mohani Group of Companies & Managing Director of Mohani Tea Leaves (P) Ltd & Director, R.L. Investment & Finance Co. Ltd. He is also serving in various capacities like President - Tea Packeters Association of U.P., Vice Chairman Federation of All India Tea Traders Association (FAITTA), Vice Chairman Indian Industries Association, Kanpur Chapter and member of Merchant Chamber of U.P., ASSOCHAM & Indian Chamber of Commerce. Mr Agarwal received the much-coveted U.P State Entrepreneur Award ( ) & Entrepreneur Award (2013) by TIE UP. He has been actively involved in cultural activities and organised several seminars of Current Affairs, Political and State Tea Conference with North / South Tea Houses and Authorities. He has also served as Project Director in various cultural events. He is an active member of Merchant Chamber of U.P., ASSOCHAM and Indian Chamber of Commerce.

15 Mr Dinesh Bihani Secretary Guwahati Tea Buyers Association Mr Dinesh Bihani a graduate in B.com Honours from Jodhpur University, joined his family business in Assam. In the year 1978, he became a Buyer member at Guwahati Tea Auction Centre. He was an executive member of Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association in 1985 & was elected as the joint Secretary of GTABA in and later became the General Secretary of GTABA in For his sincere work and popularity among tea auction buyers he was re-elected as General Secretary in the year and has been serving GTABA there on. In 2010, he was elected as an executive member in FAITTA. In this tenure, his active role in FAITTA got him elected as the Vice Chairman for the season & Apart from these Mr. Bihani also plays an important role as an active member of Lions Club of Greater Guwahati and Maheshwari Sabha Guwahati. From the last 9 years Mr Bihani is working as CNF agent for Tata Global Beverages Ltd (Logistics Operation). He is also into various Tea aligned business such as Tea Buying, Warehousing, Tea Retailing etc. He was the conveyor of North East Tea conclave for the last two episodes. He is also invited as a panellist and dignitary at various Tea Forums & Seminars. Mr Bihani is also the member of various committees of Guwahati Tea Auction Centre such as Finance, Rules, Sales, Registration & Warehouse sub-committees. He has also worked as an advisory to Minister of Industries & Commerce Govt of Assam on Guwahati Tea Auction Centre Affairs.

16 Mr Mangilai Maheshwari Buyer Member Guwahati Tea Buyers Association Mr Mangilal Maheswari was born in the year 1956 in Bikaner (Rajasthan). He completed his graduation from Guwahati Commerce College in the year 1978 and started his own business in 1978 in the name and style of India Tea Traders. Mr Maheshwari has been associated with Godfrey Phillips India Ltd and BTC Hunter Tea as their buying agents & is an active member of Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association (GTABA) and member of Sample Sub Committee and Finance Committee. He is the president of GCC Alumni Association (1978 batch) and was associated with Friends of Tribal Society.

17 Mr Rajan Lohia Owner Manohari Teas Mr Rajan Lohia a successful businessman, industrialist and tea planter and presently owning Manohari Tea Estate and Suntok Tea Estate along with several other companies in North Eastern States. Manohari Gold, a Tea from Manohari Tea Estate, under my supervision fetched a whooping price of Rs. 39,001/- per kilogram which is the highest ever price fetched by any Tea at any Auction Centre and also a World record breaking price. This Tea, Manohari Gold, is a Tea of highest quality, malty in flavour, brisk in taste and has gold like appearance was made for the first time under my guidance which has given the Tea industry in Assam new heights. Mr Lohia served as a Director, NERAMAC, a Govt. of India Enterprises; Vice Chairman, CLG, a forum of Dibrugarh Police, he is the Founder member of Dibrugarh Gymkhana Club and served the same as President and Council Chairman. He is also the forefront member in opening the English Medium CBSE affiliated Co-Ed School, Shree Agrasen Academy and served as its convener. Serving as a Trustee of Shri Shri Jagannath Cultural Trust, Dibrugarh and support whole heartedly most of philanthropic activities. He won many prizes in Car Rallies, served as member, ZRUCC, under Railway Board and served as a member of the Salt Advisory Board, Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India. Mr Lohia have been recognized as a social activist by several social organizations for the contributions made in the Society.

18 Mr Rajiv Lochan CEO Lochan Tea Ltd Mr Rajiv Lochan was born in 1954 and is an active & one of the senior CII member. He served as the Chairman of CII North Bengal Zonal Council for the year Mr Lochan have put up forty-three years as a professional planter since 1974 & running tea estates in Darjeeling and Biha, where a non-traditional tea growing area was declared by government to stop human migration since 1998 and established Lochan and Doke brands to produce and market teas world-wide.

19 Mr Soveet Gupta COO Udyan Tea Soveet Gupta holds a bachelor's degree in Financial & Investment Analysis from the University of Delhi and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Xavier Institute of Management. He has worked with Inductis India Pvt. Ltd. in the past as a Financial Analyst, and additionally holds short stints with multiple startups and companies. His current company Udyan Tea, is a pioneer in the e-commerce space for tea in India as well as a Tea Consultancy, dealing in speciality single estate tea sourced from the gardens and in-house signature blends since He currently serves as the COO while additionally assisting in business development and marketing.

20 Mr Ashok Batra Consultant- Markets Transformation Rainforest Alliance Joining forces with UTZ Mr Ashok Batra is perhaps the only Tea Broker, not only in India, but World Wide, who has been transferred and worked as the Head of all 6 Branches of the Company and auctioned at all 6 Centre s in India, besides also working as a Broker in London and Singapore. Mr Batra completed his Bachelor s in Economic (Honour s) at Wadia College, Pune. He joined J. Thomas & Co. Pvt. Ltd.in 1972 as a Management Trainee and served in that firm for a record 42 years until his retirement in 2013, being the Chairman and Managing Director for the last three years of his tenure, of this historic, largest and oldest Tea Broking and Auctioning Company in the World. Immediately after his retirement from J. Thomas, he was appointed as a Consultant in Markets transformation and Sustainable Value Chains to the World Famous Non-profit NGO, Rainforest Alliance, renown for Sustainability and Environment protection, besides looking after Social and Labour issues, and much more.

21 Mr Sourav Mukherjee Tea Buyer/ Blender Tata Global Beverages, Assam Mr Sourav Mukherjee is the second-generation Tea taster currently working as a Tea Buyer/Blender at Tata Global Beverages, Assam, having prior experiences of being a Tea Broker at J. Thomas & Co Pvt Ltd till 2016, Mr Mukherjee though far from getting a grey hair is already in possession of fair experience of tea broking/ buying and has worked closely in Darjeeling, Assam, Dooars and Terai regions. His current expertise being that of a tea taster, buyer, strategies etc.

22 Mr Soundappan Soundararajan Director (Tea Development) Tea Board India Mr Soundappan Soundararajan is an Agriculture Graduate and worked in the Tea Industry in South India for 30 years in various capacities and has an on-hand experience of setting up new Tea Factories and large Tea Plantations. He has been in the executive committees of various Planters Association and have been working in Tea Board, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, as a Director of Tea development for last 5 years. In his capacity as Director, Mr Soundararajan represented various committees national and international organizations, and also Chairing the working Group of organic Tea in FAO IGG on Tea. He is also the secretary of National Tea Research Foundation.

23 Mr Lalit Sinha General Manager Goodricke Group Ltd. Having grown up in a defence background, Mr Lalit Sinha graduated with Honours in Science. His love for nature brought him to join Tea in 1985 as a young Trainee Assistant Manager with Goodricke Group Ltd in Dooars. He became a Manager in 1999 and has since worked in Cachar and Dooars gardens till his last posting at Aibheel Tea Garden. He has taken over as General Manager Operations in January 2018, looking after the operations of seven gardens in the Dooars and is currently based in Siliguri. Mr Gaurav Ghosh Director J. Thomas & Co Pvt Ltd Mr Gaurav Ghosh is the Director of J. Thomas & Co Pvt Ltd since He is also the Member of Calcutta Tea Traders Association (CTTA) general committee.

24 Mr Rajeev Baid Director Chai Chun Mr Rajeev Baid, a young and enthusiastic entrepreneur, is an iconic tea industrialist who, in a very short span of time, has made his mark in the tea industry. With his brave and bold decisions Rajeev has brought quite a revolution in the industry. He is the owner of several tea factories in Bengal and Bihar. Among his many ventures, Evergreen Dooars Tea being a state of the art factory has been appreciated by dignitaries from various sectors of the society. The factory was recently nominated by the final jury of the CII Industrial Innovation Awards for its superior technology and automatization. He has launched a tea boutique, Chai Chun, which is being promoted on pan-india basis. Recently, Mr Baid has entered into a public private partnership with the Bihar government. Looking at his vast experience of the tea industry, he has been awarded the tender for the tea factory established by the state and Central government to be run successfully on a lease basis..

25 Mr. Piyush Desai Chairman and Managing Director Wagh Bakri Tea, Gujarat Shri Piyush bhai Desai joined Gujarat Tea Depot in 1957 as Partner and started his career in Tea business in the year He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Gujarat Tea Processors & Packers Limited since The company was incorporated in the year 1980 which sells Wagh Bakri brand Tea. From a merge Rs. 3.5 crores, he has steered the company into new horizons. Present annual turnover of group is more than Rs crores. The company has developed some export market alone in USA, Canada and Gulf markets. Over the years, Shri Desai has served in various Associations of Tea Trade. He takes much interest in social and philanthropic activities. Shri Desai is the Managing Trustee of Vasant Narayan Desai Multipurpose Charitable Trust funded and managed by the group. This trust was formed in He had also formed Asha Kiran Trust in 1984 funded by his own income.

26 Mr. Paras Desai Executive Director Wagh Bakri Tea Group, Ahmedabad Mr. Paras Desai, Executive Director, Wagh Bakri Tea Group, Ahmedabad holds a Diploma in Management Studies from Ohio State University USA, he spearheads the group's tea evaluation, purchase, finance, operations and HR departments.

27 Mr. Rajah Banerjee Chairman T' Classic (Darjeeling) Pvt. Limited Mr Swaraj Kumar Banerjee, popularly known as Rajah Banerjee, a graduate from London University and joined Makaibari in 1970 as the fourth-generation tea planter. Mr Banerjee has been awarded as the Rashtriya Ratan Award, for outstanding individual achievements and distinguished services to the nation by former Governor of Tamil Nadu at New Delhi in He is one of member of the Board of Gaia Education Trust. Mr Banerjee have been invited as a key speaker in many National & International Tea conferences, he also participated to GEN+20 at Findhorn, Scotland. Mr Rajah Banerjee was invited as one of 3 international Tea Masters at SOLO tea festival Indonesia to share the Makaibari holistic experience in Cambridge University in 2008, publishes Mr Banerjee s book, The Rajah of Darjeeling Organic Tea - Makaibari, which was launched at Kolkata, Delhi and Siliguri.

28 Shri P K Bezboruah Chairman Tea Board India Government of India

29 Mr. Bidyananda Barkakoty Chair CII North East Council Tea Task Force & Chairman, Advisory Committee for Small Tea Growers of Tea Board of India Assam Mr. Bidyananda Barkakoty, Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Small Tea Growers of Tea Board of India, Assam, who work for more benefits and facilities to the plantation workers. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Tea Planter by profession having his own plantation at Golghat, Assam. He is an Immediate Past Vice Chairman, Tea Board of India, an Advisor of North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), Council Member of Tea Research Association (TRA) & Chair CII North East Council Tea Task Force. He belongs to one of the oldest tea planter s families of Assam and is the 5 th generation to continue in Tea Plantation. He enjoys country wide friendships with different sections of tea fraternity, buyers, manufacturers & small tea growers. Mr Barkakoty, a well-travelled man, he has written many articles on tea in newspapers & magazines.

30 Mr. Viren Shah Chairman and Managing Director Jivraj Tea Ltd Mr. Viren S. Shah is the Chairman and Managing Director of Jivraj Tea Ltd. He holds a graduate degree in commerce from South Gujarat University. He joined the management team in 1986 and since then he has expanded the market of the company vastly in India as well as overseas. He himself is an astute negotiator as a tea buyer, an expert tea taster and a farsighted businessman. With his vision, backed by his expertise and experience, he has developed a vast product portfolio under the flagship brand Jivraj 9. While enjoying the market leader position in south Gujarat, he has also expanded the market vastly across the globe by developing international business relations and doing collaborations. He is instrumental in making all the strategic decisions for the company.

31 Shri Gautam Deb Hon ble Minister In Charge Department of Tourism Government of West Bengal

32 Shri Rabindranath Ghosh Hon ble Minister In Charge North Bengal Development Department Government of West Bengal

33 Shri Barun Kumar Ray, IAS Principal Secretary North Bengal Development Department Government of West Bengal

34 Ms Mrinalini Srivastava, IPS Managing Director Temi Tea Depatment of Commerce & Industry Government of Sikkim

35 Shri Arun Kumar Ray, IPS Dy. Chairman Tea Board India Government of India

36 Mr. Samrat Chakraborty, WBCS (Exe.) Jt. Director Department of Tourism Government of West Bengal

37 OTHER EMINENT SPEAKERS 1. Mr. Manoj Jhawar Tea Taster P.C. Jhawar & Company 10. Mr. Srawan Chowdhury Managing Director K.B. Tea Pvt Ltd 2. Mr Kiran Shah Director Jivraj Tea Ltd 3. Mr. Sandip Dhar Senior Manager Operations Future Group 4. Mr. Milind Shah Director Girnar Food and Beverages 5. Dr. S.E. Kabir Executive Director Tea Academy 6. Mr Aniruddha Banerjee Head Supply Chain, Planning and Logistics Spencers 7. Mr. Umesh Arora President - Marketing Warren Tea Ltd 8. Mr. Netai Majumdar Secretary North Bengal Small Tea 9. Mr. Nepul Saika Chairman North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) Assam

38