BECSR Assignment Submission

Group 8, Section D

Roll no. Name

2023PGP554 Sanju S Nair
2023PGP397 Utkarsh Agarwal
2023PGP111 Parab Ganar
2023PGP086 Pavan Ch
2023PGP278 Ridip B
2022PGP542 Rupak K
Q1. How does ITC manage the dilemma of balancing its profit objectives with its social objectives
and expectations in implementing CSR?
ITC’s e-choupal model: A great CSR initiative and successful business model:
➢ This digital initiative was launched in the year 2000. This model was implemented to deal
with the drawbacks of the APMC Act which was painfully slow and grossly inefficient.
➢ Farmers had to sell their produce to Mandis where commission created information
asymmetry and blocked market signals. They did not compensate farmers for the high-
quality products. Mandis were located at a distance from the villages which increased
farmer’s transaction costs
➢ In the value chain, procurement process is linked with the competitiveness in the market.
➢ The concept of e-choupal was born (internet kiosks) in the year 2000 to deal with the
drawbacks of APMC act and improve the supply chain efficiency.
➢ The first such kiosk was set up in Misrod, MP
➢ What’s in it for ITC:
-Improved procurement efficiency and reduced costs by 20%
➢ Access to wider pool of farmers
➢ Allowed ITC to directly monitor the quality of the products being procured which enabled
them to provide incentives to farmers to adopt modern technology
➢ Improved the brand reputation of ITC and helped in projecting them as a socially
responsible brand

What’s in it for farmers:

➢ Increased income due to elimination of flawed practices by middlemen

➢ Less exploitation of farmers by ensuring fair price, on time payments and accurate
weighing measurements
➢ Empowerment with knowledge and information for better decision making

How were traders dealt with:

➢ Traders were absorbed into the new model as Samyojaks who assisted ITC with identifying
new e-choupal locations or managing logistics at hub

➢ It was a win-win-win situation for all the stakeholders and it ensured that the company is
growing taking care of the triple bottom line which is the planet, people and profits.
Q2. Does the ITC e-choupal initiative really respond to the development needs, concerns and
priorities of rural India?

➢ This system gives farmers more control over choices, access to information, fair prices and
resulting in higher profit margins
➢ Rural community lacked all kinds of infrastructure and ITC’s IBD had to develop the entire
infrastructure including electricity, internet from the scratch
➢ It also catered to primary education for rural India through digital content and virtual training
session on pilot basis
➢ ITC also established Supplementary Learning Centres (SLC) which provided uniforms and
books to the students
➢ ITC partnered with several NGOs and worked with several women to link several non fram
skill based services of rural India
➢ ITC developed healthcare services using three tier e-choupal healthcare model to deliver
quality health services and removed constraints associated with delivering medical aids
➢ Choupal Radio aired messages on disease symptoms and preventive measures.