Tea it is sometimes served with biscuits to be dipped in the tea and eaten before consuming the tea. More often than not, it is drunk in "doses" of small cups (referred to as "Cutting" chai if sold at street tea vendors) rather than one large cup. On 21 April 2012, the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission (India), Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said tea would be declared as national drink by April 2013. The move is expected to boost the tea industry in the country. Speaking on the occasion, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said a special package for the tea industry
Lipton Institute of Tea major tea-growing regions (such as India and Kericho, Kenya, where Unilever owns tea plantations) and other key tea-drinking markets (including France, Japan, China, and the USA). The Institute claims as its mission "to promote awareness and understanding of tea, from bush to cup". The Institute also participates in and organises scientific conferences. Integral to the Institute’s research facilities is its operation of what it claims is the world’s most northerly tea plantation at its UK headquarters. This facility grows representative samples of tea from around the world in a controlled environment. The Institute invests in clinical trials to support benefit