Ahead of the Union interim budget 2024, Nalin Khemani, Chairman of Bharatiya Chai Parishad said that the tea industry in Assam needs proper promotion, particularly overseas, so that it can tap new markets and expected Tea Board to introduce a tea promotion policy. The Budget session of Parliament, the last session before the general elections expected in April-May, will begin on January 31 and is likely to continue till February 9, sources had said. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the interim budget on February 1. The session will begin with President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament.“Subsidies cannot help an industry if it wants to be self-sustainable... If the govt. could take over our burden of social costs like hospitals and schools, it will greatly reduce the burden of industry and prove to be a win-win situation for the management as well as the workers... As far as the Union Budget is concerned, the Commerce Ministry needs to ensure that our exports are increased... There is an oversupply of tea in the domestic market. If the government introduces a tea promotion policy through the Tea Board, and we step into new markets even outside the country, this will definitely help the tea industry... Both the Central as well as the state governments are serious about the tea industry, so we are hoping for the best.” India, with a share of 11 per cent, is the fourth-largest tea exporter after China, Kenya, and Sri Lanka.India as a whole contributes 23 per cent to the global tea output and employs around 1.2 million workers in the tea plantation sector. Just Assam produces nearly 700 million kg of tea annually and accounts for around half of India's overall tea production.