The Tea Board has received a proposal from the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) to put in place a web-based system to monitor the end-to-end supply chain of the brew. This will ensure that only authentic Darjeeling tea is being exported.

The online system is expected to be in place from January. The Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (Apeda) has rolled out a similar online traceability system, designed by Logicsoft, for organic food.

“We have given our proposal to the Tea Board and it has agreed to fund it. It will take at least three months to install. Through this, the entire supply chain will be monitored and accountability will be maintained,” said S.S. Bagaria, chairman of DTA.