Advocating a balanced approach between social responsibility and profit making, S Sivakumar, Chief Divisional Executive, Agri Business Development, ITC India, spoke about his company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. “This is something we have embedded into our system and aim to take it forward more strongly,” he said, while emphasising the importance of building the society along with the business. Sivakumar was speaking on “Corporate Social Responsibility – The Real Picture,” at the Mohali campus. He had conceptualised ITC’s e-Choupal model, an example of a working business model than can also benefit society. Currently e-Choupals benefit over 3.5 million farmers, who can get information on best farming practices, prevailing market prices for their crops and the weather forecast.

Sivakumar also spoke about the supply chain of ITC and how the company was following the supply chain model to secure good quality resources to meet the varying demands of the different regions in the country. He also shared his experiences on how the retail sector has evolved in the last few years and how the customer needs have diversified.