GUWAHATI, Nov 20 � Altogether six tea auction centres of the country are now selling bulk tea through e-auction bringing an end to the country�s about 150-year-old manual tea auction system. Following the success of the e-auction system, the Tea Board has now asked the NSE.IT Ltd to design an e-auction system for the tea wastes. Besides, packaged and bulk teas will also be sold through a new e-auction platform by the end of 2011.
Presently, two per cent of the total tea produced by the country is treated as tea wastes. The country produces around over 950 million kg of tea every year, said V Rajaraman, vice president of the NSE.IT Ltd, which developed the e-auction software for all these tea auction centres. He was talking to this correspondent.
The e-auction system was introduced in the southern part of the country in April last year followed by the tea auction centres of other parts of the country. Till December 31 last, around 190 million kg of tea was sold through e-auction. This year, till October 31, over 400 million kg of tea was sold through e-auction.
The conviction of the tea industry concerning the e-auction system designed, activated and run by the NSE.IT Ltd under the guidance of the Tea Board, is now total, claimed Rajaraman, adding, e-auctioning of the tea waste is expected to start in the first quarter of 2011.
Prof B Mahadevan, Professor of Operations and Dean, Administration, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, who is considered to be an expert in e-auction and consulted by the Tea Board on matters related to e-auctioning, maintained that time would be required by all sections to understand the features of e-auction.
Talking to this correspondent, he, however, expressed happiness over the fact that the about 150-year-old manual auction system in the tea industry has been replaced by e-auction system.
�Now the efforts should be at improving the system so that the true benefits of e-auction system are realised by everyone,� he said.
Both Prof Mahadevan and Rajaraman were on a two-day visit to the State in connection with a brainstorming session organised by the Joint Forum of the Assam Tea Planters� Association (ATPA), Bharatiya Cha Parishad (BCP) and the North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) at the Dibrugarh BCP Hall on Thursday.
Prof Mahadevan said that the e-auction system has four important things. The system is geographically independent, it can draw more people as participants, can provide more time to the buyers and maintains the buyers� anonymity.
Meanwhile, tea industry sources here said that the United Planters� Association of South India (UPASI) is planning to set up a new e-auction centre in Coimbatore next year. As per information, the e-auction at this centre will have unique features and will have no auctioneers or brokers.
Assam tea producers will keep a watch on the performance of this e-auction system and if found successful, the possibility of having such an e-auction centre in upper Assam will be explored in the days to come, sources said. � � � �
It needs mention here that e-auction was introduced in the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre on May 20, 2009.