‘Targeting 10 mn farmers in e-choupal network by 2022’

BHOPAL: Diversified firm ITC has said it is looking to more than double the number of farmers in its e- Choupal network to 10 million by 2022 as it gears up to expand farm produce procurement basket.

The company has been working with farmers in villages since 2000 through e-choupal -- an Internet based supply chain in rural areas which plays a key role in sourcing of various agri produce.

Currently, over 4 million farmers are in the network.

"The government is talking about doubling farmers income by 2022, and in the same lines we plan to add 10 million farmers to the network (e-choupal), which means we will not only see double income but also double the number of farmers," ITC Ltd Group Head Agri and IT Businesses S Sivakumar said.

Speaking to a group of visiting reporters, he said ITC has also planned to invest more into the agriculture space and help farmers increase their productivity by providing them with various resources.

ITC is getting into the next generation of e-choupal and expects that its foray into fruits, vegetables and sea food will help it widening the farmer base with which it works.

Currently, the company has 6,100 e-choupals and 24 rural hypermarts 'Chaupal Sagars' in 10 states.

It sources produce like wheat, soybean, coffee, shrimp, pulses, millets, barley, and jowar along with fruits such as mango, litchi, among others.

Apart from buying from the farmers, the company also provides them with mandi rates and gives them a choice to sell it anywhere. NEW DELHI: Domestic passenger vehicle sales grew 13.76 per cent in August as consumers tried to make the most out of price cuts after GST implementation ahead of an imminent hike in cess rates.

According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger vehicle sales were at 2,94,335 units in August as compared to 2,58,737 units in the same month last year.

Car sales were up 11.8 per cent to 1,98,811 units as against 1,77,829 units in August last year, the SIAM said.

Last month, the utility vehicles segment clocked the second highest monthly sales for the ongoing fiscal at 78,664 units as against 65,760 units in the year-ago month, up by 19.62 per cent. In July this year, the segment saw the biggest sales for 2017-18 at 86,874 units with 35.5 per cent growth.

"Overall the market is coming back, whether it is sustainable or not, we will have to wait and see," SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur told reporters here. Elaborating on the reasons for growth in passenger vehicles sales in August, he said: "Besides pent up demand continuing from July post-gst price cuts, many consumers also advanced purchasing vehicles as reports came about the imminent hike in GST cess rates."

Earlier this month, the government notified hike in GST cess on a range of cars to a maximum of 25 per cent, from earlier 15 per cent. On Saturday, the GST Council approved increasing cess on mid-sized cars by 2 per cent, large cars by 5 per cent and SUVS by 7 per cent and it has come into effect from Monday.

In August, market leader Maruti Suzuki India's passenger vehicle sales grew by 26.16 per cent at 1,51,270 units.

Its car sales were at 1,15,897 units during the month, a growth of 28.39 per cent, while that of utility vehicles (UVS) grew by 27.59 per cent at 21,442 units in August. Rival Hyundai Motor India's passenger vehicles sales rose by 9.03 per cent at 47,103 units. The company's car sales were at 36,639 units, up 5.5 per cent, and UVS clocked 10,410 units, up 22.86 per cent.

Homegrown utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra clocked a growth of 5.91 per cent in its passenger vehicle sales at 19,325 units during the month.

The SIAM said total twowheeler sales in August grew 14.69 per cent to 18,91,062 units compared to 16,48,871 units in the year-ago month.

"The growth in the twowheeler segment is a reflection of the rural market coming back to normalcy with the impact of demonetisation wearing off," Mathur said. Motorcycle sales last month jumped by 12.93 per cent to 11,35,699 units as against 10,05,654 units in August 2016.