Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 851: Tea and Coffee Special Economic zones (2/2)

The voice of Prime Minister Vinod reverberated throughout the parliament, attracting everyone’s unhindered attention.

"A very good morning to all my fellow colleagues and servants of the Empire."

"Today, we are here to deliberate on passing a bill put forward by His Majesty the Emperor himself. I will be reading the bill shortly, so please listen carefully."

The expressions on all the ministers’ faces immediately became serious and sombre. Everyone knew that this parliamentary session was just a formality since no bill put forward by His Majesty would be rejected by them, but still, it was necessary for them to show their professionalism and raise a few points of concern so as not to appear like they were here to play soy sauce.

Clearing his throat, Vinod spoke out:

"Imperial Bill #37 of 1671: The Tea and Coffee Special Economic Zones Act, 1671, proposed on the 6th of August, 1671."

"This bill is aiming to establish Special Economic Zones (SEZ) for the coffee and tea industries by supporting their integrated raw material procurement, production, export, and providing structured benefits to stakeholders."

"The three main bodies of the tea and coffee Special Economic Zone will be tea or coffee cultivation, processing plants of raw materials, integrated labour, logistics and communication infrastructure."

"For the development of tea and coffee industries as one of the key export-oriented industries, all five banks in the empire will establish their branches in all tea and coffee Special Economic Zones, where the government will subsidize 50% of interest on all agricultural and processing loans for private organizations for up to 10 years."

"Offices of investment firms will be established, making it easier for business owners to seek investment. Similarly, logistics company offices will also be established in order to provide streamlined internal movement for exports and internal consumption. A dedicated communication channel, Arkha Dristhi Line, will be established connecting with the main communication web of the empire, making it possible for all tea and coffee special economic zones to communicate with each other."

"An agricultural laboratory will be established directly under the Bharatiya Academy of Civilian Sciences to advise on soil fertility, pest control, fertiliser, and crop yield techniques. At the level of the central government, a Society of Coffee and Tea Growers will be established, with branches present in all tea and coffee special economic zones. Regular annual competitions will be held between plantation owners for the best tea and coffee plantation, while simultaneously serving as a platform to share knowledge."

"A competition will be held at the central level as well, which decides which tea or coffee plantation in the empire is the best."

"The benefits for the stakeholders in the special economic zones include tax incentives where 100% land revenue and production tax are exempted for ten years; 50% export duties are reduced for 15 years; land incentives where government lands are leased at 75% concession for registered stakeholders; export subsidies where five Varaha per 40 grams of tea and coffee are subsidized to the business owners; and finally, a geographical indicator will be provided to each special economic zone to enhance its brand value and increase the products’ international recognizability."

"Each special economic zone will be overseen by a commissioner appointed by the government."

"The Tea and Coffee Growers Society, as well as the Council of Tea and Coffee Trade, will advise on technology, trade policy, and conflict resolution to the government when making policies related to tea and coffee."

"The Bharatiya Standards Organisation shall inspect and audit scientific operations quarterly."

Vinod stopped talking and put down the bill in his hand, looking forward to seeing if anyone would raise questions.

As he expected, the ministers talked to each other in hushed voices all over the parliament.

Moments later, the first question was finally raised by a minister from Vijayanagar.

"Excuse me, Your Excellency, but can we know where these special economic zones will be established and how many of them will be established?"

Vinod nodded his head and replied,

"His Majesty did give an indication as to where the special economic zones can be established, but this still requires testing by the government to ensure that the special economic zone being decided is capable of handling such large-scale farming of one type of crop for a long time, and to make sure that all the infrastructure mentioned in the bill can be established."

"For now, the places shortlisted for coffee special economic zones are Chikmagaluru, Kodagu, Hasan, Wayanad, Idukki, Nilgiri, Pulneys, Araku Valley, Koraput, and other places."

"The tea plantation places shortlisted are Ahom, Darjeeling, Dooars, Terai, Nilgiri Hills, Munnar, Wayanad, Temi, and other places."

"Once the bill is passed, the inspection can be conducted as soon as possible, and the bill can be brought into practical action by the end of the month."

In such a way, several questions were asked one after another, all of which were resolved patiently by Vinod. By the end of the six-hour-long parliamentary session, the Tea and Coffee Plantation Economic Zones Act was passed and brought into motion.

---

Parliament Square

"Sir, sir, one question, please!"

"Prime Minister, Prime Minister, please, can you tell us what the bill is about?"

"Minister Narasimha, how do you think this bill will affect Solanki Puri?"

As soon as the ministers came out of the parliament, they were drowned in a barrage of questions by the journalists, but none of them stood back since they had a job to do, and that was to inspect whether the places in the guidelines provided by His Majesty could be used as special economic zones.

Each Chief Minister had to do their own inspections in their own states, and the work had to be done as quickly as possible since the bill would be brought into motion and the establishment of special economic zones would be done at most by the end of next month. So they were on a tight schedule, and they did not have a lot of time to waste.

Even Vinod did not go forward to give the interview, as he had urgent work to deal with as well, but he knew that it would be bad publicity if no one represented the government in answering to the public about what the bill was about and how it would affect the common person of the empire.

He furrowed his brows and thought deeply. In the end, after a lot of deliberation, he looked at a middle-aged man walking from behind.

"Shivraj, would you provide an interview to the media?"

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Minister of Agriculture, was taken aback, as he did not expect that it would be his turn to give the interview. But since His Excellency, the Prime Minister, asked him to give the interview himself, he would not hesitate.

In such a way, he went forward towards the group of journalists trapped behind the barricade, like a chicken walking towards a slaughterhouse.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let me answer the questions one at a time."

"The bill passed today is highly focused on the tea and coffee plantation processing and exports industry, so as to make it one of the high-value exports of the empire."

"The general framework of the bill includes—"

...

...

Shivraj started to speak about the bill nonstop until he eventually stopped after 10 minutes.

The journalists, rivalling the speed of doctors writing prescriptions, scribbled over their notebooks with the fastest speed and quickly prepared their drafts when they went back to their companies.

---

The Following day...

Bharatam Daily

"Revolutionary Tea and Coffee Special Economic Zones Bill Passed: A New Era for Plantation Industry"

Times of Bharat

"Parliament Approves Tea and Coffee SEZ Act 1671: Boost for Economy and Export"

The Observer

"Vinod Unveils Bold Bill to Regularise Tea and Coffee Plantations Across the Empire"

Ahom Daily

"Special Economic Zones for Tea and Coffee Set to Transform Agriculture and Trade"

Bangla Bhatta

"বিশেষ অর্থনৈতিক অঞ্চল বিল পাস, চা ও কফি শিল্পে বিপ্লব"

(Translation: "Special Economic Zones Bill Passed, Revolution in Tea and Coffee Industry")

Gujarati Vartha

"ચા અને કૉફી માટે વિશેષ આર્થિક ઝોન બિલ મંજૂર: ખેડૂત અને વેપારીઓ માટે સારા સમાચાર"

(Translation: "Special Economic Zones Bill Approved for Tea and Coffee: Good News for Farmers and Traders")

Odiya Prabha

"ଚା ଓ କଫି ଉଦ୍ୟୋଗ ପାଇଁ ବିଶେଷ ଆର୍ଥିକ ଜୋନ ଆଇନ ପାସ୍"

(Translation: "Special Economic Zones Act Passed for Tea and Coffee Industry")

---

The news, like a virus without any resistance, spread all over the empire...

Srinivas, a small tea plantation owner in Darjeeling, reading the newspaper, jumped up in excitement, scaring the clients in the restaurant in the process.

"Yes!!" He screamed, ignoring the weird gazes of the people around him.

Kartikiya Singha, a coffee plantation owner in Ahom, clenched the newspaper and brought it to within an inch of his eyes, unable to believe what was written in it.

"Quick, quick, prepare the rickshaw! I have to go to the Panchayat!" He was unable to hold back his excitement.

Chiranjeevi, the owner of Trupti A One Tea Company, was reading the newspaper, and his eyes turned red.

"Cha cha, immediately send someone to purchase all the small and medium-scale tea and coffee processing plants around us! It does not matter if they are asking a premium—even if we have to mortgage the company—we have to do it immediately." His tone was irrefutable. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm