- Why in news
- On 18 May 2026, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched the Rs 175 crore Cluster-based Coffee Value Chain Development Mission, 'Coffees of Nagaland', for Nagaland.
- What it is
- Coffees of Nagaland is a cluster-based mission of the Ministry for Development of North-East Region (MDoNER). It covers the full coffee chain, from plantations and processing to branding, export and coffee tourism. It aims to turn Nagaland from a raw coffee producer into a premium, traceable, single-origin coffee economy.
- Outlay
- The mission has an outlay of Rs 175 crore.
- Pilot clusters
- Tuophema village (Kohima) is the Arabica pilot cluster. Ghotovi village (Niuland) is the Robusta pilot cluster.
- Scope
- It integrates plantation development, post-harvest processing, branding, marketing, traceability, export, tourism and capacity building.
- Implementing ministry
- The mission is led by MDoNER, whose Union Minister launched it.
- Certification and traceability
- The programme plans organic certification, GI tagging and digital traceability.
- Link to jhum
- The Chief Minister said coffee is an important alternative to shifting cultivation in many districts.
Don’t confuse with Arabica vs Robusta: The two pilot clusters grow different species: Arabica at Tuophema (Kohima) and Robusta at Ghotovi (Niuland).
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Offers an alternative to shifting cultivation and raises smallholder incomes through value addition.
- Builds a regional specialty brand and links coffee to farm-stay tourism.
Problems
- Small farmers need quality, productivity and market access to get premium prices.
- The mission starts with only two pilot clusters, so scaling up is uncertain.
Way forward
- Expand the cluster model after pilot results, with shared processing infrastructure.
- Complete GI tagging and traceability so the brand earns premium shelf space.
- 2013Mains GS2 · Q3Nagas' fear of directives overriding Article 371A special status
- 2022Mains GS3 · Q13Bottlenecks in upstream and downstream marketing of agricultural products
- 2015Mains GS3 · Q6Impediments in food processing marketing and supply chain; e-commerce's role
- 2008Prelims Q144Matching coffee, rubber, tea, and tobacco boards with their headquarters
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: New regional crop mission with Rs 175 crore outlay and pilot clusters; regional schemes rarely set in UPSC, though 52 Prelims questions came from schemes.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.