109^th Annual General Meeting
ITC Limited
September 4, 2020

ITC: Agility in Adversity,
Synergy in Diversity, Compassionate in Crisis

Address by Chairman, Mr Sanjiv Puri

I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the 109^th Annual General Meeting of your Company. We meet virtually today given the extraordinary  circumstances.

The untamed spread of the COVID-19 virus, over the  past few months, has caused unimaginable crisis across the globe. Never before,  in recent history, have we encountered a challenge of this dimension that has  so profoundly impacted almost every human on this planet.

Today, I would like to first express our deepest  respect for the country's doctors and health care workers who have endured  immense hardship to fight such a formidable battle. We would also like to  convey our sincerest appreciation to the thousands in Government, Army,  Administration, Police and many others across the country who have toiled relentlessly  to fight many a battle amidst extremely difficult circumstances. The  Governments at the Centre and States have responded with speed and laudable  resolve to provide extensive support to the distressed. We join the Nation in expressing  our deepest appreciation for their unparalleled service to the country.

Black swan events like this pandemic bring in their  wake, crises of unprecedented proportions as also opportunities like never  before. An opportunity to reimagine the future and rewire thought, strategy and  action to build a path to a safer, healthier and secure tomorrow. Such disruptive  events not only test resilience and adaptive capacity but can also unleash  forces of innovation and creativity to shape a more sustainable and inclusive  future.

There is no doubt that the task ahead will be  daunting. Though the Indian economy will face multi-dimensional challenges in  the short term, it is certainly reassuring that our country remains one of the major  economies in the world with huge potential.

This strength of conviction and hope in the country's  future is also premised in the laudable manner that India has fought back. The  Government, led by the vision of the Hon'ble Prime Minister, played an  admirable role in dealing with the health crisis, extending timely relief to  the vulnerable and in announcing the Rs 20 lakh crores special package. The  wide ranging reforms, accelerated infrastructural development and policy  interventions to shape competitive "Make in India" supply chains, will augur  well for the economy and is expected to spur growth over time. The  transformative reforms announced in the agricultural sector have also been  pathbreaking. They hold the promise to foster a new era of growth for farmers  and rural India, that comprise nearly half of the country's workforce, besides triggering  a virtuous cycle of consumption, investment and employment.

It is today even more imperative that business and  industry, as large economic organs of society, act with  compassion and embed societal value creation and particularly livelihood generation  in their strategies to rebuild the future. At ITC, that is indeed the spirit  which has guided our philosophy of Responsible Competitiveness embodied in our  credo of Nation First - Sab Saath Badhein.

ITC: Performance Highlights

Your Company has over the years built a robust  portfolio of synergistic businesses and enterprise assets that have lent  invaluable strength during this crisis. Before I dwell on these aspects, I  would first like to present an overview of your Company's Triple Bottom Line  performance in the year gone by.

Gross Revenue and PBT (before exceptional items) for  FY20 stood at around Rs 46,300 crores and Rs 19300 crores respectively. Whilst  PBT (before exceptional items) grew by 9.6% in the first nine months of FY20,  subsequent disruptions in operations due to the pandemic weighed on fourth  quarter performance, resulting in a full year growth of 4.6%.  Profit After Tax grew at a faster clip of  21.4% to over Rs 15,000 crores. Non-cigarette segment revenue rose to Rs 31,000  crores during the year, accounting for nearly 60% of ITC's total segment  revenue.

Your Company's world-class FMCG brands clocked an  annual consumer spend of over Rs 19,700 crores in aggregate during the year. Comparable revenue grew ahead of  industry, amidst subdued demand conditions, while profitability improved  significantly. Segment EBITDA recorded a robust growth of 33% during the year. Such  performance was powered by enhanced scale and availability, product mix  enrichment, impactful communication, reduced distance-to-market and other  strategic cost management initiatives. Moreover, such growth has been achieved  despite the gestation costs of new products, categories and manufacturing  facilities as well as sustained investments in brand building. The recent  acquisition of Sunrise Foods Private Limited, which was completed during the lockdown  even in a 'work from home' state, will further add vibrancy to your Company's  portfolio.

The Cigarettes Business consolidated its market  standing through continued focus on delivering world-class products along with  best-in-class execution. However, persistent weakness in the demand  environment, disruptions in March 2020 due to the nationwide lockdowns and  growth in illicit cigarette trade impacted performance.

In the first 11 months of the year, the Hotels  Business delivered strong performance, with the new iconic properties gaining  excellent response, before the debacle crippled the hospitality sector. The  Business is responding swiftly to mitigate the significant near-term challenges  and has launched the "WeAssure" programme, designed in collaboration with  medical professionals and disinfection experts, to reinforce best-in-class  hygiene and safety standards at ITC properties. Your  Company will continue to pursue the 'asset-right' growth strategy, sweat  existing assets and examine alternative structures for enhanced value creation.

The Paperboards, Paper & Packaging segment  delivered a competitively superior performance with product and process  innovations amidst sluggish growth in end-user industries. The Agri-business  segment witnessed appreciable growth given the trading opportunities in  oilseeds & pulses as well as the enhanced focus on value-added agriculture.

During the first quarter, the nationwide lockdowns  particularly impacted your Company's performance in the Hotels, Cigarettes,  Education and Stationery Products (ESPB), Paperboards & Packaging  Businesses. However, it is encouraging that the FMCG-Others Segment delivered a  comparable revenue growth of 19%, whilst Segment EBITDA demonstrated strong  growth of 42% during the period. This was driven by revenue growth of 34% in  Staples, Convenience Foods and Health & Hygiene products, which represent  75% of the portfolio.

Other than the Hotels segment and ESPB, progressive  normalisation was witnessed in the later part of the first quarter across all  operating segments. However, the current spate of localised lockdowns is  impacting the recovery momentum. The near-term outlook remains uncertain as  consumer trends and industry dynamics constantly evolve in the backdrop of the  yet unfolding impact of the pandemic and shape of economic recovery. Your  Company shall continue to closely monitor the situation and respond with  agility to strengthen its market standing while sharply focusing on cost  reduction measures.

Your Company's presence across agriculture,  manufacturing and services enables it to make a larger contribution to the Nation.  ITC is today one of the top 3 Indian corporates in the private sector in terms  of Contribution to the Exchequer. I am sure you will also take pride that your  Company is the only enterprise in the world of comparable dimensions to be  carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive for more  than a decade now. ITC has been ranked No.1 globally amongst its peers and No.3  overall on ESG performance in the Food Products industry by Sustainalytics, a  renowned global ESG rating company. Your Company has also been rated 'AA' by  MSCI-ESG - the highest among global tobacco companies. This year, your Company's  Paperboards unit at Kovai became the 1st facility in India and the 2nd in the  world to be awarded the Alliance for Water Stewardship Platinum-level  certification - the highest recognition for water stewardship in the world. It  is a matter of deep satisfaction that your Company today supports over 6  million livelihoods.

ITC: The Response to the Pandemic

As the pandemic unfolded, your Company responded with  agility, resilience and compassion to adapt to the new normal. A COVID  Contingency Fund of Rs 215 crores was set up to address the needs of the  distressed. Together with local authorities, a combination of cooked meals, food  and hygiene products were also distributed across 25 States and Union  Territories. To ensure liquidity in the hands of farmers, your Company's  procurement of agri produce was intensified. ITC has worked with the  Government's MGNREGA programme to create 7.6 lakh person days of work in just  45 days. ITC also extended financial support to its supply chain partners for  obtaining a COVID-19 Insurance Cover for their associates, covering  hospitalisation and diagnostic expenses. 

Your Company ramped up production capacity and resumed  distribution in record time, with extreme focus on safety protocols.  Over 180 factories manufacturing essential  products in Foods, Personal Care and Hygiene as well as Paperboards and  Packaging were progressively made operational. More than 85% of your Company's  WDs and associated warehouses were made operational within 10 days of the  lockdown, servicing millions of consumers with highly motivated frontline  teams. Responding with agility to emerging consumer needs, your Company fast  tracked the design, development and go-to-market strategy of innovative products  and services. The Savlon portfolio of hygiene products  was augmented with differentiated offerings including disinfectant sprays,  advanced 'Hexa' sanitisers, soaps, bodywash, germ protection wipes and so on.  Other innovative products include 'Nimwash' - with 100% natural action for washing  vegetables and fruits, B Natural Plus range of Immunity beverages, Bingo! range  of new snacks, a wide array of ITC Master Chef frozen foods and a variety of  Farmland frozen vegetables to cater to the increasing demand for safe and high  quality products. Your Company also repurposed its perfume manufacturing  facility in Manpura, Himachal Pradesh on a war footing. Manufacture of ITC's  hygiene products like Savlon sanitisers was ramped up by 275 times to cater to  the surge in demand.

To reach millions of  consumers confined to their homes, your Company was a first mover in entering  into collaborations with companies such as Dominos, Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo and  Amway to leverage their direct to home reach. The innovative 'ITC Store on  Wheels' initiative was launched to directly service residential complexes.

It was immensely inspiring to witness the extraordinary  efforts put in by your Company's frontline warriors amidst such adversity.  Stories abound of dedicated team members who commuted over long distances with  a lot of difficulty to ensure continuity of operations, of donning the caps of  others to operate units, of travelling hundreds of miles to motivate potential  employees to relocate from their home districts to our safe factories, and so  on. These examples of dedication and commitment by Team ITC bring immense  pride, and I would like to place on record today my deepest appreciation on  behalf of the Board.

ITC: Reimagining the Future

Over the last few months, the  pandemic caused unprecedented disruption to economic activity the world over,  propelling the already slowing global economy into a recessionary shock. World  output is estimated to contract by 5 - 7% this year representing the deepest recession  since the Great Depression. Estimates for the Indian economy indicate a substantial  contraction in 2020-21, with several sectors experiencing severe demand  destruction. This is likely to shrink livelihood opportunities considerably  causing a severe stress on consumer spends.  

Such a  situation undoubtedly calls for a strategic response focusing on the vigorous  pursuit of value-accretive opportunities leveraging your Company's  institutional strengths on the one hand whilst driving thrift, cost optimisation  and conservation of cash on the other.  However,  the universal question that today engages policy makers, business and civil  society alike is: How do we reimagine the future not only to survive and  revive, but also to thrive in the new normal?   To my mind, Reimagining the Future will encompass 3 distinct phases which  will co-exist in the journey ahead. First, a 'Survival' phase as corporates  brace to manage the current crisis. Second, a 'Reboot' phase as businesses  align to the new normal with certain segments experiencing demand destruction,  some new trends emerging whilst several pre-crisis trends gain accelerated  pace. Third, as the crisis ebbs, corporates will have to gear up for the 'next  normal' with some trends moderating, some remaining at an elevated level,  certain segments witnessing recovery, whilst new opportunities and industry  dynamics get constantly redefined. 

Building Competitiveness  & Resilience

I am deeply convinced that the future will belong to purposeful  enterprises who will constantly build competitiveness with agility and  innovation to respond speedily to external shocks and emerge even stronger from  the crisis. It is this compelling strategic response that drives your Company  to strengthen organisational vitality in a manner that is future-ready, fosters  extreme competitiveness, whilst contributing meaningfully to the vision of an Atmanirbhar  Bharat.

This Vitality is today manifest in the robust  eco-system of your Company where differentiated products and services can move  from the drawing board to the market in record speed; where trusted world-class  Indian brands have been built and nurtured; where supply chains can be realigned  to react swiftly to disruptions; where timely partnerships can be orchestrated;  where extreme focus is provided to sweating assets and getting more out of less;  where critical infrastructure and relationships nurtured across the value chain  can be repurposed to sharpen competitive advantage; where sustainability is  embedded in strategy and action to make larger societal value creation an  integral part of business outcomes; and where dedicated talent is inspired by a  larger sense of purpose.

Your Company's investments in state-of-the-art  Integrated Manufacturing facilities with a distributed footprint, that support indigenous supply-chains, enabled swift  realignment and resilience to changing circumstances. Such close-to-market  factories ensure product freshness, improve market responsiveness, enable  cost-optimisation and provide heightened focus on product hygiene, safety and  quality.

Building resilience and  responsible competitiveness is integral to your Company's DNA and a strategic  driver of growth creating enduring shareholder value. The  current pandemic reinforces the need for resilience, which will continue to be  an area of strategic priority for your Company.

Let me now dwell on a few key themes and highlight how  your Company's competitive ability reinforces its future-readiness.

Purposeful Innovation  for Consumers

Global research today points to the consumers'  increasing demand for products and services that focus on health, wellness,  safety and hygiene. Consumers continue to prefer trusted brands. Quite  expectedly, the demand for essential products in the food and hygiene segments witnessed  a surge. There is a growing preference for organic, naturals and fresh products  though consumers also seek indulgence, comfort eating and even resort to  'revenge' consumption. Frozen food, ready to eat or cook meals score high on convenience,  during these trying times. The home has now become the epicenter of life,  substituting dining out, entertainment and socialising. Cooking exotic meals,  becoming an accomplished home-chef are new entertainment and family occasions. Discretionary  spends are down, and there is evidence of value-seeking behaviour. There is a  shift to larger basket purchases, large value packs with infrequent shopping  frequency. Digital shopping surged exponentially even as neighbourhood grocery  stores emerged as the lifeline for essential supplies.

Your Company's  innovation engine is at work 24x7 to develop future-ready products. This was  leveraged by your Company to rapidly introduce over 40 high quality, first-to-market  products and variants during the pandemic to meet emerging consumer demand. While these science-led innovations witnessed encouraging consumer  response, the surge in demand for your Company's portfolio of food and hygiene  products required a substantive scale-up in capacity contributing to the robust  performance evident in the Q1 results.

Such agile responses stand testimony to your Company's  unique enterprise assets nurtured over time. These strengths are manifest in deep consumer insights, superior agri-sourcing  strengths, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, cutting-edge R&D,  cuisine expertise of hotels, in-house packaging expertise and a widespread,  efficient distribution infrastructure.

Reimagining Digital Transformation

The pandemic accelerated manifold the transition to digitalisation  that was already moving at high velocity. Apart from e-commerce, digital  entertainment, work-from-home conferencing, telemedicine, education, learning  and skill development, e-services, social media communications have all experienced  exponential surge.

Accelerated digital transformation is integral to your Company's future-ready strategy  and is increasingly being harnessed to enhance competitive advantage. New  technologies such as Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data,  industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Learning are being deployed by  all Businesses, including your Company's supply chain and logistics to enhance  operational effectiveness. Substantial investments have been made in the  creation of a digital eco-system to drive smart manufacturing, product quality,  traceability and supply chain agility, amongst others. This accelerated digital  journey has begun to demonstrate appreciable outcomes.

Your Company's Marketing Command Centre - 'Sixth  Sense' - leverages cloud-technology, cutting-edge social-media engagement tools  and a digital marketing & analytics platform to drive contextual  communication and product development rapidly. The  Centre has today developed into a real time repository on market trends. Based  on the insights gained, several digital campaigns have been rolled out and  product variants developed. For example, social media trends like Dalgona  coffee were leveraged to deepen consumer engagement for ITC's Sunbean Beaten  Caffe and introduce a new variant in a long shelf life ambient format.

Taking its digital interventions further, your Company  swiftly launched an online ordering system for retailers to address the surge  in demand during the pandemic. Enhanced presence across  e-commerce platforms led to accelerated growth in sales and marketing of ITC's  FMCG products. Your Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, ITC Infotech has developed  appreciable domain-led expertise in emerging areas of digital and automation solutions  and is your Company's strategic partner in its journey of digital  transformation. The rapid pace of digital adoption world-wide offers immense  promise for this business. The pandemic saw an explosive adoption of digital  tools and platforms, which is poised to redefine business operations and  consumer engagement significantly. Your Company continues to invest in building  its digital enterprise capacity and capabilities to stay ahead of the curve and  shape formidable strengths for the future.

Rediscovering  Sustainability

Even before the outbreak, the world was in the throes  of a sustainability crisis with increasing frequency of extreme weather events,  climate change induced vulnerabilities, poverty and hunger challenges as well  as the crying need to create gainful livelihood for millions of youth. The  pandemic aggravated this situation by causing havoc to livelihoods across  nations, making it the most critical sustainability issue today. According to  recent studies, the number of people in extreme poverty globally may rise to  over 1 billion due to the pandemic, with the lockdown phases impacting almost  2.7 billion workers, or four in five of the world's workforce. India will  mirror this global trend with the crisis severely impacting livelihoods across many  sectors. Compounding this is the threat of climate  change, which can no longer be ignored given that it leads the top 5 long-term  risks in the Global Risk Report 2020 of the World Economic Forum. As I have  often emphasized, it is imperative that businesses, as an integral part of  society, embed sustainability in its core strategy and play a transformative role  in securing the future of generations to come.

Your Company's vision to serve a larger national  purpose has inspired unique business models that build substantial economic,  environmental and social capital for the Nation. Over the years, competitive and  inclusive value chains have been built which are anchored by ITC's world-class  brands. ITC's Social Investment initiatives build capacities for tomorrow through  extensive vocational training, women empowerment programmes and supplementary education.  In addition, the Company's extensive interventions in agriculture help in empowering  millions of farmers. Your Company's superior environmental benchmarks in all its  operations, creation of large forestry and water resources as also a renewable  energy portfolio accounting for over 41% of total energy consumption makes ITC an  icon of environmental stewardship.

Several innovations, backed by R&D, have led to  path breaking initiatives. For example, your Company's Paperboards as well as  Packaging businesses have introduced several innovative sustainable packaging  solutions. These include the recyclable barrier board 'Filo' series as an  innovative substitute for single-use plastics in the food service segment and the  biodegradable 'Omega Series' as an alternative to plastic coated containers and  cups, and so on. Your Company has also pioneered a replicable Multi-layered  Plastic waste management model in Pune, providing an end-to-end solution for converting  such waste into commercial products based on technical knowhow of the ITC Life  Sciences & Technology Centre.

Your Company has set ambitious sustainability goals  for the future. ITC aspires to meet 50% of its total energy consumption from  renewable sources by 2030. Your Company intends to sequester over four times  the CO2 emissions from its operations as well as create rainwater harvesting  potential equivalent to over five times its net water consumption over the next  decade. As part of its waste management programme, the Company aims to ensure  that 100% of its packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable in the next  decade. Your Company's leadership in sustainability reinforces its aspirations  to be a future-ready enterprise, responsive to the needs of society.

Building Next  Generation Agriculture

Nearly two-thirds of the country's population reside  in rural India, with almost half of the total workforce dependent on  agriculture. Despite the potential in India's agri-sector, farmers  continue to face challenges of productivity, depleting water resources and effective  market linkages. Aggravating these challenges is the threat of climate  change, as rightly highlighted in the recent RBI Annual Report, which states  that volatile rainfall intensity, increase in extreme weather events and rising  temperature can severely impact agriculture. Compounding these challenges are  the large wastages in perishables, and insignificant value addition in  agri-products which impact the farmer's earning potential. It is therefore critical  that the latent power of Next Generation Agriculture is unleashed to raise  farmer incomes and drive a virtuous cycle of consumption, investment and employment  whilst insulating the farmers from the threat of climate change by the  large-scale promotion of sustainable agricultural practices. The recent path-breaking reforms provide an unparalleled  opportunity to transform agriculture.

In the true  spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, your Company has, over several decades, engaged  deeply with farmers to address these multi-dimensional challenges and co-create  sustainable solutions to raise rural incomes. Powered by ITC's celebrated e-Choupal,  and your Company's social investments, large-scale interventions have been  implemented to enable climate-smart agriculture, enhance productivity, promote  value-addition, expand market access and exports. To future-proof agriculture  and combat climate change, ITC's Water Stewardship programmes have brought soil  and moisture conservation to over 1 million acres whilst initiatives for  demand-side management of water that enable 'more crop per drop' cover more  than 2 lakh acres across 6 states, reducing consumption by as much as 20 to  45%.

Your Company's  Agri-Business lends distinctive competitive advantage to its Branded Packaged  Food Businesses with superior agri-sourcing that focuses on identity  preservation, traceability and certification, as well as lower transaction  costs. Today, your Company is one of India's largest integrated agri business  enterprises with a segment revenue of over Rs 10,200 crores. It is also a  significant exporter of value-added agri-products and the largest procurer of  wheat in the private sector. Your Company sources over 3 million tonnes of  agri-products from 225 districts in 22 States. Several competitive agri value  chains have been assiduously built over time to benefit farmers.  The Wheat and Spices Value Chain is anchored  by the Aashirvaad brand as well as exports. The Potato Value Chain is driven by  ITC's Bingo! Snacks; the Fruits & Vegetables Value Chain is powered by ITC's  B-Natural juices, Farmland and ITC Master Chef Frozen Foods and the Dairy Value  Chain leverages Aashirvaad Svasti dairy products and Sunfeast Wonderz milk-based  beverages. These vibrant value-chains provide consumers high quality products whilst  generating substantial livelihoods. Your Company's increasing engagement across  the perishables value-chain, including value-added products in frozen, purees and  dehydrated formats will also spur investments in climate controlled  infrastructure and food processing.

Your Company is  well poised to expand its horizons in the agricultural sector. The transformative  agri-reforms will also open up new opportunities. These measures are likely to enhance  operational efficiencies and accelerate your Company's journey towards building  a robust and future-ready Value-Added Agri Products portfolio catering to both  the B2B and B2C channels. Your Company is stepping up farmer engagement in  wheat, potato, chillies and fruits & vegetables through a Crop Value Chain  Cluster model to connect small farmers to markets. The Company expects to  support nearly 3000 FPOs with more than a million farmers across 24 crop value  chain clusters in 21 states, shaping competitive agri value-chains and  enhancing farmer incomes. These value chains will be anchored by ITC's large  investments in food processing, its vibrant brands as well as exports.

Enabling Future-ready  Innovation

Innovation is an  elixir of growth that continuously builds competitiveness and strengthens  resilience in times of crisis. Your Company's deep R&D capabilities are an invaluable  asset enabling it to seize emerging opportunities. With more than 350 highly  qualified scientists, LSTC has set up futuristic Centres of Excellence in  Biosciences, Agrisciences and Materials and has filed over 900 patents. Your  Company also engages with the start-up ecosystem to gain insights from their  vibrant innovative capabilities, and where appropriate, is open to making  investments.

The advanced  scientific platforms in health, hygiene and immunity lend a competitive edge to  your Company's consumer products and in recent times, also enabled an accelerated  response to the pandemic. In addition to the  differentiated range of Savlon products mentioned earlier, other innovations developed  by LSTC include B Natural Plus beverage, Aashirvaad Svasti Fortified Milk and Ghee,  Sunfeast Digestive Veda Marie with goodness of Fibre & Ayurvedic herbs,  Fortified YiPPee noodles with 5 vital nutrients and so on. Your Company is  working on multiple value propositions in the areas of functional foods &  nutrition.  The continued effort is to  develop products with lower sodium and sugar as also to enrich & fortify  them with value-added nutrients and ingredients such as probiotics, prebiotics,  fibres, nuts, seeds and so on. Innovative products are also being developed for  a healthier lifestyle relating to Indian traits in diabetes, bone health,  cardio vascular, immunity, gluten free, gut health and cognition, among others.  Your Company's FMCG products like Mangaldeep agarbattis have also innovated  with a "Lo Smoke" variant that emits 80% lesser smoke, whilst ESPB  continuously works with LSTC to create superior writing experiences.

Developing  Entrepreneurial Talent

These times of crisis bring to the fore the critical  role that inspired talent plays in building resilience of enterprises that are  built to last. Your Company believes in nurturing a talented pool of 'proneurs'  - entrepreneurial professionals who operate with a start-up mindset but with  the crucial advantage of ITC's institutional resources. This pool of  distributed leaders with wide experience across businesses are supported by a  culture of continuous learning that provides cutting-edge development support  to create the 'proneurs' of the future.

The 'proneurial' mindset, adaptive capacity and deep  commitment of your Company's distributed leadership together with the  inspiration to serve a larger national purpose formed the fulcrum of the  resilience demonstrated during these difficult times, and will continue to be  its strength in the years to come.

ITC: In Support of Atmanirbhar  Bharat

Your Company's superordinate goal to serve larger  national priorities is enshrined in its credo of Nation First - Sab Saath Badhein. The vision to create multiple drivers of future-ready  businesses, competitive and inclusive value chains that retain larger value in  India, is deeply aligned to the Prime Minister's clarion call for an 'Atmanirbhar  Bharat'.

Your Company is recognised as a pioneer in enabling  agricultural transformation.  Following  the success of ITC's 'Baareh Mahine Hariyali' programme aligned to the  Government's 'Doubling Farmers' Income vision, we are now ready to implement e-Choupal  4.0 at scale and bring the benefits of the digital revolution to empower farmers  even more effectively. This digital platform, designed as a crop agnostic  integrated solution framework will synergistically aggregate technologies like  remote sensing, precision farming, drone-based services, quality assaying,  e-marketplace and many others. It is now ITC's vision to empower 10 million  farmers in India multiplying livelihoods that will benefit over 50 million  people.

Your Company's large afforestation initiative covering  over 8,00,000 acres not only enables competitive fibre sourcing for its Paperboards  Business, but has also generated 147 million person days of employment for  marginal farmers. Your Company has also invested in an indigenous agarbatti bamboo value  chain to contribute to import substitution and retain larger value in the  country. It is estimated that domestic cultivation of  bamboo for agarbattis, by substituting imports, can generate over 22 million  person days of employment per year. Towards this, the Government's recent policy  interventions to promote indigenous bamboo cultivation will go a long way in  generating gainful livelihoods. Your Company is already sourcing bamboo for its  Mangaldeep brand and promoting nurseries in North-East India, many of which are  run by women.

Supporting rural progress and prosperity, is also your  Company's large-scale Social Investment programme that enhances the livelihood  generating capacity and enriches environmental resources. Over 77 public-private-people  partnerships have been forged with State Governments and public institutions to  bring complementary skills and resources together to benefit rural communities. Your Company in collaboration with NITI Aayog has trained 15 lakh  farmers in 27 backward districts of 8 states under the Aspirational Districts  programme covering 15 crops. The results have been heartening with productivity  increasing significantly by 53%, cultivation cost reducing by 15% and net  farmer incomes increasing between 33% to 100%. Over 74,000 sustainable livelihoods have been  generated for women, more than 81,500 youth have benefitted from ITC's  vocational training initiatives and around 7,75,000 children have received  supplementary education. Over 1.8 million animals have been covered  through the livestock development initiative.

In line with its abiding vision to make a meaningful  contribution to inclusive growth, your Company's portfolio of world-class Indian  brands enables retention of larger value within the country, in alignment to  the call for 'Vocal for Local'. Supporting the manufacture of these high  quality products, are the 'Make in India' investments in state-of-the-art ICMLs,  and in India's largest Paperboards facilities that contribute to the Nation's  modern industrial infrastructure creating livelihoods across the value chain. The  Company also promotes local entrepreneurship across states in manufacturing  ITC's diverse products. Your Company has also created some of the most iconic  properties to enrich India's tourism landscape.

The creation and ownership of intellectual property is  critical for a country's progress. When such intellectual capital is manifest  in successful Indian trademarks, that can win against globally reputed brands,  it serves as a force multiplier for larger value creation for the country apart  from being a badge of national honour. Your Company's endeavour to create  winning Indian trademarks aims to build such intellectual capital and larger  value for the country.

In Conclusion

Your Company is today at an important juncture as the investments  made in the past to build the diverse businesses demonstrate even larger promise  to create sustained value for our shareholders and the Nation. There are few  enterprises in the world that have built so many businesses and brands in such  a relatively short span of time, gaining encouraging market standing and  leadership in several segments. Your Company's agility, compassionate  action and adaptive capabilities during these trying circumstances demonstrate its  timeless and enduring strengths. Undoubtedly, the short-term will be immensely challenging  as the crisis plays out its course. However, we remain optimistic that your  Company's focus on top strategic priorities and a superordinate national  purpose will continue to create larger value for the country and its  stakeholders.

As I conclude, I would like to place on record my gratitude  to all our partners and associates, who have bravely stood with us in serving  the country in these difficult times. I take pride in ITC's dedicated and  committed talent, who have left no stone unturned to take the Company to greater  heights despite being constrained by the tough circumstances. On behalf of the Board,  may I thank you, our valuable shareholders, for your encouragement through the  years. As always, I will depend on your support as we steer the Company through  this challenging journey to build an even brighter future.

My best wishes to you and your families. Stay safe,  stay healthy.

Thank you, Ladies & Gentlemen.