India: Tobacco Board Wins Golden Leaf Award

Source from:  The Hindu  10/10/2014

The Tobacco Board has added another feather in its cap by bagging the prestigious "2014 Golden Leaf Award" for its "most impressive public service initiatives" in the tobacco sector at an International conference held in West Virginia, USA, recently.

Tobacco Board Chairman Koothati Gopal received the award at a meeting of Global Tobacco Networking Forum (GTNF) held at Washington D.C. and West Virginia, U.S.A.

"I dedicate the award to 89,507 FCV tobacco growers and their family members involved in production of FCV tobacco in India,'' said Mr. Gopal, after receiving the award.

In the past one year, the Tobacco Board has taken various initiatives relating to extension activities, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), elimination of Non-Tobacco Related Material (NTRM) and elimination of pesticide residues and initiated a series of measures for achieving sustainability in the sector.

The implementation of electronic auction (E-Auction) system to ensure transparency and accountability in sale of tobacco leaves across the 30 auction platforms in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Other associated reforms initiated by the Board have caught the attention of global customers and organisers, Mr. Gopal said.

The GTNF was first launched in 2008 by Tobacco Reporter, a tobacco magazine. The GNTF helps bring various stake holders together to talk on wide range of topics and issues industry related to the industry. Enditem