Major tea firms are spending a significant amount of money on welfare schemes for their employees. However, this study of 350 firms reveals a marginal decline in the ratio of welfare expense to total income to 0.71 per cent in 1999-00 from 0.75 per cent in the preceding year.

The biggest contributor in welfare expenses was Larsen & Toubro, which set aside Rs 88.42 crore to meet welfare expenses. Others in the top 10 included Telco (Rs 86.07 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 57.30 crore), Grasim Industries (Rs 42.28 crore), Mahindra&Mahindra (Rs 41.91 crore), Tata Tea (Rs 41.66 crore), Motor Industries (Rs 32.74 crore), Hind Lever (Rs 32.46 crore), Ashok Leyland (Rs 28.66 crore) and ITC (Rs 28.23 crore).

Tata Tea made a significant contribution in the community and employees' welfare as well as environment conservation particularly in the plantation divisions.

In north India, Tata Tea made further investment in the Referral Hospital and Research Centre in Chubwa in Upper Assam by installing state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment facilities.

Firms with large welfare expenses did not necessarily figure at the top of the league in terms of welfare expenses to total income ratio. Here, Bishnauth Tea with 8.73 per cent took top honours. Others in the top 10 included George Williamson (7.47 per cent), Goodricke (6.29 per cent), Jayshree Tea (4.87 per cent), Blue Dart Express (4.86 per cent), Tata Tea (4.23 per cent), Goetze India (3.69 per cent), Harrisons Malyalam (3.55 per cent), Eveready Industries (3.4 per cent) and ITC Hotels (3.36 per cent).

In association with a non-governmental organisation - BIRD (Bureau of Integrated Rural Development) - Bishnauth Tea has provided expertise and subsidised the cost of seeds and other benefits for `multiple cropping' of paddy, mustard and vegetables in several villages on the north bank. Medical camps, mobile dispensaries and immunisation facilities provided by the company are very well recognised by the nearby villages. At the Goodricke group, several new welfare schemes have commenced at the gardens. The garden hospitals and the group Hospital at Aibheel continued to care for the company's employees and their families. The Goodricke School for Special Education in Siliguri which has been fully sponsored by Goodricke including specialised teaching aids for disabled children is in the final planning stage.

Of the 350 firms, 188 witnessed a fall in welfare expenses to total income ratio while 148 notched up a higher ratio in 1999-00 over 1998-99. The remaining 14 firms showed no change.

Significant declines were witnessed in the case of Alpha Laval (2.36 per cent to 1.57 per cent), BOC India (1.85 per cent to 0.87 per cent) and Forbes Gokak (1.56 per cent to 1.19 per cent).

A significant improvement in 1999-00 was noticed in the case of Asian Hotels (1.89 per cent to 2.68 per cent), Colgate-Palmolive (1.38 per cent to 1.68 per cent), DGP Windsor India (1.21 per cent to 1.8 per cent), Eveready Indus (3.18 per cent to 3.4 per cent), George Williamson (6.46 per cent to 7.47 per cent) and Goodricke (5.02 per cent to 6.29 per cent).

An attempt has been made to compare the ratio for 350 firms spread over 23 industries for 1998-99 and 1999-00.

The ratio for 23 industries was also studied, which has declined marginally from 1998-99 to 1999-00 in the case of food products (0.64 per cent to 0.59 per cent), pharmaceuticals (0.75 per cent to 0.71 per cent), other chemical products (0.56 per cent to 0.54 per cent), cotton textiles (0.59 per cent to 0.54 per cent), cement (0.77 per cent to 0.70 per cent), electrical goods (0.98 per cent to 0.92 per cent), fertilisers (0.68 per cent to 0.6 per cent), manmade fibres (0.49 per cent to 0.43 per cent), engineering others (0.99 per cent to 0.91 per cent), auto & ancillaries (1 per cent to 0.94 per cent), iron & steel (0.32 per cent to 0.31 per cent), miscellaneous (0.7 per cent to 0.69 per cent), paints (0.56 per cent to 0.48 per cent) and diversified (0.65 per cent to 0.58 per cent).

In the cotton textiles industry, a significant decline of 9.4 per cent in welfare expenses during 1999-00 pulled down the ratio of welfare to total income during 1999-00 from 1998-99.

A reverse trend can be seen in the case of tea & coffee (4.8 per cent to 5.18 per cent), tobacco (0.32 per cent to 0.34 per cent), hotels (2.72 per cent to 2.91 per cent), tyres & tubes (0.87 per cent to 0.92 per cent), computers (0.71 per cent to 0.72 per cent), sugar & breweries (0.41 per cent to 0.46 per cent), paper & products (0.69 per cent to 0.7 per cent), electricity (0.4 per cent to 0.43 per cent) and aluminium (0.99 per cent to 1.04 per cent).

A highest increase in welfare expenditure was witnessed in the case of computers (33.6 per cent) followed by electricity (17.9 per cent), tyres & tubes (15.3 per cent), aluminium (12.2 per cent), fertilisers (11.3 per cent), tobacco (10.7 per cent) and miscellaneous (10.2 per cent). An opposite trend can be seen in the case of paper & products (22.8 per cent), cotton textiles (9.4 per cent), iron & steel (6.2 per cent) and cement (3.9 per cent).