ITC has won the Golden Peacock global award for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in emerging economies 2005, for its e-choupal and social and farm forestry initiatives.

The award was presented in London on May 12 by Dr Ola Ullsten, former Prime Minister of Sweden, who also headed the jury.

ITC said the award recognised the impact of the two initiatives in transforming lives and landscapes in rural India.

ITC's e-choupal at present provides over 3.5 million farmers access to crop-specific, customised and comprehensive information at their village and in vernacular.

Over the next decade, the e-choupal network aims to cover over 100,000 Indian villages, representing a sixth of Indian villages, and linking more than 10 million farmers.

Under the social and farm forestry programme, 108 million saplings have been planted over 29,500 hectares, generating employment opportunities for 290,000 people, ITC said in a release.

In the next 10 years, 600 million saplings will be planted over 100,000 hectares of private wastelands, benefiting 1.2 million people.