Tobacco Board of India has been awarded the Golden Leaf Award in the Most Impressive Public Service Initiative category for the year 2019, for its efforts to initiate various sustainability (green) initiatives in Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco cultivation in India. Executive Director of Tobacco Board, K. Sunitha, received the award at Tab Expo 2019 event in Amsterdam, The Netherlands yesterday.

The awards under this category are given to a company or institution that introduced a public service programme or educational campaign of creativity, effectiveness to date and best use of resources. Awards are granted on an annual basis to companies that have achieved outstanding performance in five categories - most impressive public service initiative, most promising new product introduction, most exciting newcomer to the industry, most outstanding service to the industry and the BMJ most committed to quality award.

The Golden Leaf Awards were created to recognize professional excellence and dedication in the tobacco industry by Tobacco Reporter, an international magazine in the year 2006.

In 2014, the Tobacco Board of India won a Golden Leaf Award in the Most Impressive Public Service Initiative category for its implementation of an electronic auction system, which has made the marketing of flue-cured tobacco in India more transparent and accountable.

India is the world's fourth largest producer of FCV tobacco. About 88,000 FCV tobacco farmers and their families in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are dependent on this crop for their livelihood.

In order to address the negative effects of tobacco cultivation that extend beyond those on health to economic problems and environmental degradation and to ensure sustainability, Tobacco Board has taken various initiatives relating to extension activities, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), natural farming in tobacco cultivation for production of organic tobaccos(on the lines of ZBNF now being advocated by Government of India), 365 days green cover in tobacco cultivation, promotion of advanced nursery technologies, elimination of Non-Tobacco Related Material (NTRM) and elimination of pesticide residues, energy conservation initiatives and development of greenery with growers and trade and initiated a series of measures for achieving sustainability in the sector.

Tobacco Board believes that these unique initiatives pioneered by Tobacco Board for the overall benefit of the farming community and sustenance of the tobacco industry as a whole are proving to be promising in achieving the ultimate goal of sustainability.

Tobacco Board is a statutory body established under Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The main functions of the Board include regulating the production and curing of Virginia tobacco in India, implementation of extension and developmental activities for improving the yields and quality of tobacco, facilitating sale of tobacco through e-auctions on the auction floors of the Board, undertaking various grower welfare measures and export promotion of tobacco and tobacco products.

Statutory regulation of Virginia tobacco recognized for sustainability and market-transparency initiatives improving cultivation practices. The Tobacco Board, a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, implemented sustainability and market-transparency measures in Flue-Cured Virginia tobacco cultivation, including Good Agricultural Practices, natural and organic farming promotion, 365-days green cover, advanced nursery technologies, elimination of non-tobacco material and pesticide residues, energy conservation, development of greenery with growers and trade, and an electronic auction system to facilitate sales and improve transparency.