About this episode

The episode explores the transformation of ITC from a tobacco company to a major conglomerate in India.

ITC is the great paradox of Indian business: a tobacco company that spent decades trying to become something other than a tobacco company, and pulled it off. Getting there meant surviving a tax demand five times its net worth, the arrest of two former chairmen, and a long, bruising war with BAT for control of the company. It meant winning at atta when even Hindustan Unilever couldn't, rewiring how India's farmers sell their crops, and building it all without a founder or a family at the helm. Today ITC turns over roughly ₹80,000 crore, owns a ₹9,000 crore brand in Aashirvaad alone, and counts the Indian government as its single largest shareholder. Among them, LIC, which insures the lives of the very smokers keeping ITC's profits alight. This is the story of how a colonial cigarette company became one of India's most valuable — and most unlikely — conglomerates. Tune in! --------- We also have an interactive companion page to explore the history of ITC with reading lists, infographics and source notes: https://the-ken.com/intermission/the-fmcg-company-in-a-cigarette-pack-itc/ ---------- Credits: Hosts: Rohin Dharmakumar, Seetharaman G Podcast Producer: Vidhatri Rao Director…

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