The North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) has awarded its Lifetime Achievement Award to Piyush Desai, the 86-year-old chairman of the Wagh Bakri Tea Group. The group, operating since 1892, is one of India’s top packaged tea companies with a turnover exceeding ₹2,000 crore and holds about 9% of the market share. It is the third largest tea brand in India, behind Hindustan Unilever and Tata Consumer Products. On January 9, 2026, former NETA chairman Ajay Dhandharia said, “Piyush Desai is a tea maestro with six decades of experience in the tea industry. He is a tea tasting and evaluation expert and has been instrumental in setting high standards of quality in the company with his deep knowledge and insights of the industry.” NETA adviser Bidyananda Barkakoty added that Mr. Desai chaired the Federation of All India Tea Traders Association and founded the Western India Tea Dealers’ Association. He said, “There is a special bond between Assam and Gujarat because Assam is the largest producer of tea and Gujarat is the largest consumer of tea in India.” Founded in 1981, NETA has 183 member tea companies from Assam, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. Together, they produce about 165 million kilograms of processed tea, making up 23% of Assam's total tea output. Earlier Lifetime Achievement Award winners include Apurba Kumar Barooah and Sagar Metha.