Tea, the most loved beverage in Bharat,
has immense and innumerable proven health benefits, which need to be studied scientifically
and catalogued. With this goal, a historic deal was inked between All India
Institute of Ayurveda-AIIA and the Andrew Yule Group, a govt of India
enterprise in New Delhi.
During the event, Union Ports, Shipping
& Waterways and Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “This agreement is
an attempt to scientifically catalogue the various health benefits of tea as
well as explore possibilities of tea’s application in providing Ayurvedic
medicine.”
“Under the visionary leadership of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, the government has been empowering the traditional
knowledge of medicine like Ayurveda with scientific validation, through a
modern research & development approach. This has enabled our rich heritage
of Ayurveda and other traditional forms of medicine to provide solutions for a
wider range of ailments and allow people to enrich their quality of life,”
shared Sonowal.
“From the days of the yore, tea has been
consumed by the indigenous population of Assam, both for its taste as well as
healing touch. For long, this rich bounty of nature in Assam has remained
merely as a cash crop. Decades have gone by but no sincere attempt was ever
made to realise the rich herbal and healing power of tea. As Bharat reinvents
itself, tea, one of the mainstays of Assam, is set to unlock its potential as a
natural ingredient towards Ayurvedic formulations which are aimed at enriching
the quality of lives of the people.”
As per the agreement, the expert team
from AIIA will collect samples from various tea estates of AYCL for undertaking
necessary lab research.
Further, the AIIA will perform a
detailed analysis of various teas to find out its benefits on human health, and
usage in Ayurvedic medicines, cosmetics, etc.
It is to be noted that AYCL has seven
tea estates in Assam, including Khowang, Tingkhong, Basmatia, Rajgarh, and Desam
in Dibrugarh; Hoolungooree in Jorhat; and Murphulani in Golaghat.
AIIA is likely to provide technical
recommendations to change compositions and processes to enhance health benefits
and utility.
Talking about the tea tourism, Sonowal continued,
“Tea gardens have mesmerising effect on rejuvenating the health and mind of any
individual. With this collaboration, we are unrolling the possibility of a
booming tourism industry in Assam with the healing touch of Ayurveda and yoga
in the pristine lap of Tea Gardens.”
He added, “The vision of PM Modi is to
energise the possibilities of Assam and enable the growth engine of Bharat towards
becoming a Self Reliant nation by 2047. Tea is set to draw strength from
Ayurveda, our rich heritage, and provide a platform for Assam towards becoming
a new destination of healing tourism in the South East Asian region.”
Sangeeta Das
