ITC is open to inorganic opportunities to expand FMCG segment: Sanjiv Puri

The biggest challenge for the cigarette industry is a steep increase in taxation, which has trebled in the past six years

Building categories and brands organically is what comes naturally to ITC. This year has seen close to 40 launches in the non-cigarettes fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space while the cigarettes business, hitherto burdened by a steep increase in taxation, is recovering. Sanjiv Puri, ITC's managing director, tells Ishita Ayan Dutt and Avishek Rakshit that the focus is on preparing the enterprise for tomorrow and the day after. Edited excerpts: 

It is often said that a bulk of ITC's profits comes from cigarettes even though non-cigarettes account for an almost equal share of revenues. When is the non-cigarettes business expected to catch