UPSC Prelims 2022 Q62: Tea-Producing States of India — Explained

Consider the following States:

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Kerala

3. Himachal Pradesh

4. Tripura

How many of the above are generally known as tea-producing States?

  1. Only one State
  2. Only two States
  3. Only three States
  4. All four States

Answer: (c) Only three States

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: incorrect — Andhra Pradesh is not known as a tea state. The Tea Board's state-wise table of tea growers and tea area (as on 31 March 2025) has rows for Assam, West Bengal, Other North India, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, and none for Andhra Pradesh. The state's hill plantation belt, the Araku valley in the Eastern Ghats, grows coffee, not tea.
  • 2: correct — Kerala is one of India's four traditional tea states. A 2000 Lok Sabha reply named them as Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Tea Board's 2025 table shows 95 estates and 8,079 small growers in Kerala, on about 35,697 ha. Munnar in Idukki district is the best-known tea area.
  • 3: correct — Himachal Pradesh grows Kangra tea on the slopes of the Dhauladhar range around Palampur. This is a small but recognised tea region, and Kangra tea carries a Geographical Indication tag. A PIB release of 1 August 2016 names Himachal Pradesh, along with the North-East and Idukki in Kerala, as areas where small tea growers get special Tea Board assistance.
  • 4: correct — Tripura's tea plantations date back to 1916, and the state is classed as a traditional tea-growing state. A PIB backgrounder of February 2022 credits it with about 54 tea estates, 21 processing factories and over 2,500 small growers. Together they produce about 9 million kg of tea a year, which makes Tripura the fifth largest of India's 16 tea-producing states.

How to eliminate

Basic knowledge does not narrow this one down much. Kerala (Munnar) is easy to get right. The rest depends on knowing which crop each hill region grows. Himachal (Kangra tea) and Tripura are small producers, but both are recognised tea states, and the phrase 'generally known' is meant to include them. The fact that settles the question is that Andhra Pradesh's plantation belt in the Araku valley grows coffee, not tea. Remember the split: Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the big four tea states, with Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka as smaller tea producers. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha appear on the coffee map, not the tea map. Questions that ask how many items are correct give no option to eliminate by structure, so you have to judge each state on its own.

Know more

Tea is a plantation crop. It needs a warm, humid climate, rainfall of 150–300 cm spread through the year, deep fertile soil rich in humus, and well-drained hill slopes, because waterlogging kills the roots. This is why tea grows in two belts: the North-East and sub-Himalayan foothills, and the Western Ghats/Nilgiris in the South.

Category States / regions
Traditional major producers Assam (Assam Valley, Cachar), West Bengal (Darjeeling, Dooars, Terai), Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris, Anamalai), Kerala (Munnar, Wayanad)
Smaller established producers Tripura, Himachal Pradesh (Kangra), Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Bihar (Kishanganj)
Non-traditional (newer) Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim

Key facts to remember:

  • Assam and West Bengal hold most of India's tea area. Per the Tea Board, Assam has about 3.59 lakh ha out of an all-India 6.35 lakh ha (2025).
  • Small tea growers (STGs) are a large and growing segment, with about 2.49 lakh enumerated growers as of March 2025.
  • Kangra grows mainly China-type bushes. Darjeeling was India's first GI-tagged product. Tripura sells its tea under a state tea logo, launched in 2018.
  • The Tea Board is a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce, set up under the Tea Act, 1953. Its head office is in Kolkata.

Coffee is often confused with tea. India's coffee belt is Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with non-traditional areas in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha (Eastern Ghats) and in the North-East. When a question mixes states, first ask: is this hill region known for tea, coffee, rubber or spices?

NCERT Concepts to Revise

  • Tea: The question asks which states are known for this plantation beverage crop, so you need its climate and terrain needs.
  • Plantation agriculture: Tea is grown as estate-based plantation agriculture, and that system explains where tea states cluster.
  • Coffee: Coffee grows on similar hill terrain, and telling India's tea belt apart from its coffee belt is the core of this question.

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