ITC-IBD to set up e-choupals in Telangana

ITC International Business Division (ITC-IBD) is setting up 100 e-choupals during the current Kharif season in the north Telangana districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The e-choupals, to be set up in Adilabad, Nizamabad and part of Karimnagar districts, will reach out to farmers growing maize, soyabean, pulses and turmeric.

ITC-IBD is also exploring the possibility of setting up e-choupals for servicing the growers of spices in Guntur district, fresh vegetables in Medak district and mangoes in Krishna and Chittoor districts of the state.

"In the case of horticultural crops, we are also looking at Punjab to set up e-chaupals," ITC-IBD chief executive, S Sivakumar, told Business Standard.

He said the company's foray into the north Telangana districts was an extension of what it was doing in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

As per the estimates, the three Telangana districts, where e-choupals would be set up, account for a production of one million tonnes of maize, pulses and soyabean per annum.

In 2005-06, ITC-IBD registered a 50 per cent growth in turnover at Rs 1,800 crore compared with Rs 1,200 crore in the previous year.