{"id":80221,"date":"2026-07-28T18:12:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T12:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=80221"},"modified":"2026-07-28T18:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T12:44:10","slug":"drone-transport-tea-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-07-2026\/drone-transport-tea-leaves","title":{"rendered":"Drone-Based Transportation of Tea Leaves in Kerala"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Agriculture and Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A tea company has begun using drone-based transport to move freshly harvested green leaves from tea fields to weighment centres and processing factories in Kerala\u2019s Idukki.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Drones can transport tea leaves over<strong> 5\u201310 km<\/strong> from plantations to weighment centres and factories.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aims to <strong>reduce fuel costs, minimise manual handling, address labour shortages, and speed up processing,<\/strong> thereby improving tea quality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The initiative marks a significant step towards <strong>precision agriculture, digital transformation, and sustainable plantation management<\/strong> in India&#8217;s tea sector.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Indian Tea Industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tea is grown in <strong>15 States in India.<\/strong> Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the <strong>principal producing states<\/strong>, while Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Karnataka are established but smaller contributors.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Newer belt of non-traditional States: <\/strong>Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India is the <strong>largest producer and consumer of black tea<\/strong> in the world.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is the<strong> second-largest tea producer overall<\/strong> and, in 2024, stood as the third-largest tea exporter globally.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Prominent tea regions:<\/strong> Assam (Assam Valley, Cachar) and West Bengal (Dooars, Terai, Darjeeling).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Global reputation:<\/strong> Indian teas, especially Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri, are renowned for their quality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India\u2019s Export destinations: <\/strong>United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Russia, China, the United States, Iran, the United Kingdom, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Schemes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Tea Development &amp; Promotion Scheme (TDPS): <\/strong>Implemented via the Tea Board of India under the <strong>15th Finance Commission (2021\u20132026)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Plantation Development for Small Tea Growers (PDSTG):<\/strong> Provides subsidies on field mechanization (pruning machines up to \u20b930,000, mechanical harvesters up to \u20b940,000, and power sprayers) alongside support for organic certification and soil testing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Tea Industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Climate change:<\/strong> Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather are affecting tea yield and quality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Labour shortages: <\/strong>Declining availability of plantation workers has increased dependence on mechanisation and migrant labour.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Low profitability: <\/strong>Rising input costs, low tea prices, and ageing tea bushes have squeezed growers&#8217; margins.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pest and sustainability concerns:<\/strong> Increased pest pressure, residue management issues, and the need for sustainable cultivation practices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade and market challenges:<\/strong> Competition from low-cost producers, logistics bottlenecks, and non-tariff barriers affecting exports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Geographical Condition for Tea production<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The tea plant grows well in<strong> tropical and subtropical <\/strong>climates. Tea bushes require a <strong>warm and moist frost-free climate<\/strong> all through the year.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Soil:<\/strong> It requires deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Temperature:<\/strong> The average annual temperature for tea<strong>150<\/strong> plants to grow well is in the range of <strong>15-23\u00b0C.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Precipitation:<\/strong> The rainfall needed is between <strong>-200 cm.<\/strong> Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure <strong>continuous growth of tender leaves.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tea Board of India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It was set up as a <strong>statutory body in 1954<\/strong> under the <strong>Tea Act, 1953.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It was established for the purposes of <strong>regulating the Indian tea industry and protecting the interests of tea producers in India.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>All teas produced in the tea growing areas of India are <strong>administered by the Tea Board.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Board consists of <strong>32 Members, <\/strong>including Chairman and Deputy Chairman appointed by the Government of India representing different sections of the Tea industry.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Board\u2019s <strong>Head Office is situated in Kolkata<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/kerala\/a-first-in-kerala-munnar-tea-company-uses-drones-to-move-harvested-leaves\/article71266658.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> A tea company has begun using drone-based transport to move freshly harvested green leaves from tea fields to weighment centres and processing factories in Kerala\u2019s Idukki. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Drones can transport tea leaves over 5\u201310 km from plantations to weighment centres and factories. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Aims to reduce fuel costs, minimise manual handling, address labour shortages, and speed up processing, thereby improving tea quality. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-07-2026\/drone-transport-tea-leaves \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80221"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80223,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80221\/revisions\/80223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}