ITC and corporate responsibility !!

Corporate responsibilities are minimum in India; so their liabilities! Giants like Uni Liver, Hind Lever here or the indigenous house of Birlas, Ambanis or Ruias do hardly anything to protect the consumer's interest. They enjoyed the monopoly in post independence scenario at aegis of Nehruvian government and ideology of mixed economy. The protectionism only helped them to garner maximum profits at the cost Indian consumers. Only recently we the Indian consumers are becoming bit quality conscious and consumer rights. That too they are still limited within the urban educated class. But judiciary remaining it its age old attitude; reigning errant business house is still a far cry! Very few are exceptional, to my opinion house of TATA s are so.

ITC the tobacco giant, originally branched out from British Tobacco; is one such company is still with colonial attitude. They were here as Indian subsidiary of BAT to make only profits selling their tobacco products and other business. Now having formed full fledged Indian company ITC they have entered into many fields, like agro, finance and hospitality. They already frustrated thousands of small investors with their ITC Classic going to dock. However one plus point to their credit , they returned the depositor's money honestly. In Indian scenario even that is great! The same happened with the other agro business, ITC Agro, frustrating their investors with their horrible mismanagement they sold the company to Conagra. Till now it appears they are doing well in their hospitality business and playing best with their primary business tobacco products.

However here too their corporate responsibility to their customers are non existent. The business in this sector is easy to run with addict customers. The pricing is a factor as and when government impose fresh tax. They are master in it , every time their established products are taxed further , they come out with new and encourage their customers to switch over.

A small segment of their customers are buyers of their age old Capstan Smoking Tobacco,for rolling their cigarettes or smoking through pipes. Come June every year , this tobacco pouch is vanished from retailers stocks. In Kolkata, where ITC has its head quarter, right on their nose they are sold at a premium. The attempts to draw company's notice fail to address the problem. The rolling papers for the same tobacco under the same brand name are always sold at a price more than double than its MRP! Ask any retailers; they cite their helplessness as they too buy at a higher price form the wholesalers! The tobacco, is smuggled out to Bangladesh in connivance with the company officials , some allege. What is evident the corporate responsibilities are the least important to this tobacco leviathan. And of course the Government machinery in our ' MERA BHARAT MAHAN' is defunct as ever!!