Patent Ranjit Chaliha awarded to Assam tea planter for tea-drying device

GUWAHATI: The Controller of Patents, Patent Office, Government of India, has awarded a Patent to Guwahati-based veteran tea planter, Ranjit Chaliha for devising a novel device for overcoming the inconsistencies prevalent in normal drying conditions during tea production, thereby achieving substantial savings in heating expenses as well as resulting in consistent quality, stated a press release.

Named 'VARUN', this patented device is the world's first and only one of its kind. It promises to be a boon to the tea industry in battling the vagaries of the ambient air during the production season of tea. Due to the rapid changes in temperature and humidity throughout the year, it is a struggle to achieve consistent quality and constant adjustments must be made during the production process in order to reach the desired levels.

'VARUN' is a compact and durable electronic device that senses the ambient air conditions of the drying section of the tea factory and instantly calculates the ideal inlet and exhaust temperatures required to be maintained in real time basis.

Another major attribute of 'VARUN' is that it is a heat-saving device. During the drier months of the tea-manufacturing season, it is not necessary to heat the inlet air to the same high temperatures that are necessary during the wetter monsoon months. '"VARUN' will indicate what should be the inlet temperature and the corresponding exhaust temperature in real time corresponding to the ambient aircondition, resulting in considerable savings in energy.

In 2016 'VARUN' was granted Certificate of Invention Patent by the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China.

Ranjit Chaliha is a Mechanical Engineer from Jadavpur University and has been actively involved in Research & Development in the tea industry during his career as a tea planter for over 60 years.

He had earlier designed an innovative green tea leaf carrying trailer, which has been used extensively in the industry with desirable results.

He has served as Chairman of the Engineering Sub-Committee of Tea Research Association (TRA), Tocklai, the world's oldest institute of research facility for the development of tea.

He has also served as Managing Director of Korangani Tea Company Pvt. Ltd. and was instrumental in introducing state-of-art production practices at Korangani Tea Estate in Dibrugarh district of Assam.

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