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B Chatterjee

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TOP BRASS

Young Chairman of the Coffee Board G V Krishna Rau has many plans up his sleeve like introducing Bio Technology in coffee cultivation to ensure that the Indian Coffee goes places. "Our focus would be to increase the export of value added coffees to realize enhanced export realization while developing differentiated coffee products to offer a variety of choice to the consumer", he disclosed.
According to Rau "our communication and promotion initiatives in the last few years have helped in positioning the strengths of our coffees appropriately before the international coffee fraternity due to which washed Robusta variety currently fetches a premium of over 350 US dollars per tonne."

In an interview to the "whispersinthecorridors.com" he said that Indian Robusta has also got the recognition as a vital component in a good cup of espresso, the fastest growing segment in key international markets. However, he said "in spite of these positive developments, we cannot afford to be complacent in our endeavor."

G V Krishna Rau foresaw some growth for decaffeinated and organic coffees in the Asian and Indian market adding "but I don't expect it to be a dominant segment." According to him on an average the Board spends about Rs.50 lakhs per annum for labour welfare measures.

1/Since the Coffee Board has slashed its staff, then how do you cope up with the research work?

About five years ago, Indian Arabica used to attract over 10 cents/lb discount at New York futures terminal. Today our Arabica is fetching on par prices. Indian Robustas are presently attracting highest premiums for both washed and unwashed types in the international terminal. This essentially means that our communication and promotion initiatives in the last few years have helped in positioning the strengths of our coffees appropriately before the international coffee fraternity. However, there is still ample scope to improve the quality of our coffees specially by augmenting the production of washed Robustas which currently fetches a premium of over 350 US dollars per tonne. Indian Robusta has also got the recognition as a vital component in a good cup of espresso, the fastest growing segment in key international markets. In spite of these positive developments, we cannot afford to be complacent in our endeavor. We need to make sustained efforts in producing, promoting and marketing good quality coffees to remain competitive vis a vis other producing origins

2/Which is best variety of coffee? Do you think that after a decade or two Decaffeinated coffee and Organic coffees will capture Asian and Indian market?
Arabica and Robusta are the two varieties of coffee commercially cultivated the world over including India. While Arabica is known for its flavour and aroma, the Robusta is known for its body and strength in the cup. In the international arena, While all Robustas are classified as a single category, Arabica is classified as Colombian milds, Brazilian milds and Other milds. Indian Arabica is grouped under Other milds.

With regard to varieties, it is very difficult to pin point a particular variety as the best coffee as the performance of a given variety depend on many parameters like elevation, aspect, soil profile, rain fall pattern, humidity and adoption of cultural practices under Indian conditions. Because of this, the Board recommends different varieties for different locations depending upon the suitability and adoptability of varieties in particular locations.
As far growth for decaffeinated and organic coffees in the Asian and Indian market is concerned, there will be some growth but I don't expect it to be a dominant segment.

3/ Does the Coffee Board carry out welfare activities for workers engaged in coffee plantations?
Coffee Board is implementing a labour welfare plan scheme which provides for (1) Grant of educational stipends to meritorious students i.e. children/ dependents of coffee plantations/processing workers (2) Grant of donations for medical aid and equipments to hospitals /primary health centers in coffee growing regions and (3) Financial assistance to improve infrastructure in educational institutions. On an average the Board spends about Rs.50 lakhs per annum for labour welfare measures.

4/ Coffee consumption is going up in India. In the wake of this how growth can be ensured so that domestic need was met while jacking up exports?
We have flagged the issue of enhancing the domestic coffee market as a priority in our XI Plan. The International Coffee Organization (ICO) has also recognized the fact that, only by increasing domestic coffee market in the producing countries,, the problem of supply demand mismatch can be addressed suitably. In the Indian context, enhanced domestic coffee consumption would not only help in insulating the grower realizations but also would generate employment opportunities. For example, every additional tonne of coffee consumed in the country would provide at least ten new jobs.

Our present coffee production is placed about three lakh tonnes (Post Blossom estimate for 2006-07). On account of limitations of further available area in the country suitable for coffee cultivation and also the limitations in increasing the current productivity levels beyond a certain point, our production projection for XI Plan terminal year would be around 3.35 lakh tonnes. Our projection for the domestic coffee consumption is 1.20 lakh tonnes (from the present level of 80,000 tonnes) by the terminal year of the XI Plan. This would mean that only about 2.15 lakh tonnes of Indian coffee is available for exports which is almost on par with the present level of exports. However, our focus on the export front would be to maximize value for coffee exports. In this regard, our focus would be to increase the export of value added coffees to realize enhanced export realization.

5/ In which new areas Indian Coffee Board is going to enter?
As far as new areas are concerned, our focus would be to develop differentiated coffee products to offer a variety of choice to the consumer. This would not only attract a wider section of consumers but also increase the visibility of coffee.

6/ Where do you find the Indian coffee when compared to the global trade from other countries?
About five years ago, Indian Arabica used to attract over 10 cents/lb discount at New York futures terminal. Today our Arabica is fetching on par prices. Indian Robustas are presently attracting highest premiums for both washed and unwashed types in the international terminal. This essentially means that our communication and promotion initiatives in the last few years have helped in positioning the strengths of our coffees appropriately before the international coffee fraternity. However, there is still ample scope to improve the quality of our coffees specially by augmenting the production of washed Robustas which currently fetches a premium of over 350 US dollars per tonne. Indian Robusta has also got the recognition as a vital component in a good cup of espresso, the fastest growing segment in key international markets. In spite of these positive developments, we cannot afford to be complacent in our endeavor. We need to make sustained efforts in producing, promoting and marketing good quality coffees to remain competitive vis a vis other producing origins

7/ What innovative ideas have been adopted to arrest dwindling production of Arabica coffee?
For the past one decade or so, the Arabica production in the country have remained more or less stagnant at around one lakh tonnes. This is in spite of the fact that, total Arabica area in the country moved up from the level of 1.4 lakh hectare to 1.80 lakh hectare during the past 10 years. The reasons for this stagnation are (1) Large presence of senile Arabica blocks (about 60,000 hectares) which are past their economic age limits (2) Death of millions of Arabica plants in the past 4-5 years owing to Stem Borer menace - Roughly over 10,000 hectares of area have been replanted in the past 4 years which are yet to come to bearing (3) Impact of coffee crisis in the last 4 -5 years owing to which growers reduced farm inputs to reduce losses which negatively impacted the farm productivity (4) Very low productivity levels prevailing in the coffee farms in Non traditional areas like Andhra/ Orissa and North East Region and (5) Limitations in increasing productivity levels in Arabica farms under Indian conditions. The Coffee Board has recognized these issues and is proposing the following initiatives.

1. Put in place a suitable Replanting scheme with appropriate financial incentives backed with credit facility to motivate growers to convert senile Arabica blocks into productive blocks
2. Collaborative research efforts in the XI Plan to bring about synergy in the frontier areas like Bio technology to speed up developing superior plant materials with enhanced productivity and quality potential as well as tolerance to pests and diseases specially the stem borer and leaf rust.
3. Intensive drive to combat the Stem Borer with active participation of grower bodies.
Through above initiatives, it would be possible to stabilize Arabica coffee production in the country at around 1.5 lakh tonnes in the next 8-10 years.
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Sudha Pillai is new Secretary Labour

Ms Sudha Pillai will be new Secretary Labour in the Government of India. She is 1972 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.Ms Pillai would succeed K M Sahni.

Chandra Pal appointed Secretary SSI

Chandra Pal has been appointed Secretary Small Scale Industries in the Government of India.1972 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer Chandra Pal would succeed Anupam Dasgupta.

Gautam Chatterjee to be CVO !
Joint Secretary Defence, Gautam Chatterjee, is moving to a PSU under the Power Ministry as CVO. He is 1982 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.

Assam Chief Secretary takes VRS
Assam Chief Secretary S Kabilan has taken VRS to join as Chairman of the TamilNadu Electricity Regulatory Commission.He is 1972 batch IAS officer.
( We said this three months ago)

Tiwari is PS to Jaipal Reddy
as PS to Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy. He is 1990 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.

Sarma is new Chief Secretary of Assam
P C Sarma is taking over as new Chief Secretary of Assam on Friday. He is 1975 batch IAS officer.
( We said this yesterday )

10 Orissa cadre IAS officers for centre !
About ten IAS officers of Orissa cadre are reported to have expressed their desire to go on deputation to the Centre.

Who will be DG (Vigilance) in the CBEC ?
Who will succeed Joginder Singh, DG (Vigilance), in the Central Board of Excise and Customs? Tie is said to be between A Bhattacharya and R K Gupta.

Hardyal Singh appointed Ombudsman
CCIT in Delhi, Hardyal Singh, is joining as Income-Tax Ombudsman in Mumbai this week end.

Retirement age of Chairman CAT raised
Retirement age of the Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has been raised from 65 to 68 years.

Sumeet Jerath empanelled
Sumeet Jerath is reported to have been empanelled to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Government of India during the last review meeting. He is 1985 batch IAS officer of Asssam-Meghalaya cadre.

Two ADG posts vacant in Ministry of Forests
As many as two posts of ADG are lying vacant in Ministry of Forests since the retirement of RPS Katwal and GK Prasad is the acting DG at present.

Karanataka govt heading for trouble
Karanataka government is said to be heading for trouble with each passing day. Chief Minister Devegowda loyalists, intelligence reports say, may join the Congress any time.

Highest disposal of cases in Allahabad HC
Even as Uttar Pradesh accounts for the largest share in the burden of
pending cases in the High Courts across the country, it also clocks
fastest rate of disposal at its Allahabad High Court. On an average, about 3200 cases are disposed of per judge per year in Allahabad High Court, against the national average of about 2324. Total 10,74,179 cases are pending in Allahabad High Court, accounting for one-fourth of 42,42,450 cases pending in the twenty-one high courts in the country.

IPS officers are upset in Maharashtra
More then a dozen senior IPS Officials in Maharashtra, lobbying in the corridors of power for plum posts, are upset over the delay in reshuffle. It is learnt that it may be further delayed in view of the model code of conduct in force due to the upcoming civic polls.

Three new Allahabad HC Judges
Justice Bharat Bhushan Agarwal, Justice Ganga Prasad Srivastava and Justice Muneendra Kumar Mittal have been appointed Additional Judges of the Allahabad High Court.

Welcome to Chhattisgarh
Officers in Chhattisgarh cadre who want to go on deputation to
Government of India are being told to get their replacements from anywhere. So this is a great opportunity for all those who'd like to come on inter cadre deputation to Chhattisgarh, to contact those officers empanelled for Joint Secretary in Chhattisgarh cadre.

FORUM

Stand against corrupt
Really it is high time the honest officers of all services stand against corrupt ones. Somehow some corrupt officers give the impression that majority is corrupt. The clout and power of the corrupt invariably make them close to the people in power.

A K Kumar

Uniformed housing policy required
Housing problem in present scenario is baffling when you find same advertisement for last 5 years for flats for sale in some "SIPRA SUN CITY ". Yes , an uniform policy is required across services. There are solutions.

Saroj Pradhan
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CORPORATE

BHPVL to merge with BHEL
The public sector Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels Limited is being merged with BHEL .

Buch to be MD of Prudential ICICI
Madhavi Puri Buch, senior GM of ICICI Bank, will replace Pankan Razdan as MD of Prudential ICICI.

Razdan promoted as head of Prudential Singapore
Pankaj Razdan, MD of AMC, is being promoted as head of Prudential, Singapore.

Treschow may become Chairman
Sweden's Electrolux, the world's second largest white-goods maker chairman Michael Treschow would step down . He is likely to be appointed chairman of food and consumer goods giant Unilever.

Anand Murthy to be VP
Anand Murthy has been appointed as VP(Operations) of Home Stores India.

Mehra is E-bay country manager
E-Bay India has appointed Rajan Mehra as country manager.