Sumit Moitra

ITC is venturing, through its e-choupal platform, into retailing of petroleum products in rural areas in association with companies like Bharat Petroleum and Shell. Under the arrangement, the petro companies would set up fuel stations at the rural distribution hubs being set up by ITC.

The company additionally has tied up with auto companies like TVS for marketing their bikes through its online infrastructure.

"We have tied up with Bharat Petroleum Corporation for setting up fuel retailing outlets at the existing ITC e-choupal hubs. A similar agreement has been signed with Shell which will market their lubricants through these joints," Mr. S Sivakumar, chief executive officer, International Business Division, ITC Ltd told The Asian Age at the sidelines of a seminar on role of services and allied sectors in the resurgence of the east organised by Bengal Chamber of Commerce. He said they were currently talking to some other petroleum marketing companies for fuel distribution services in those states where e-choupal has an existing infrastructure. Distribution of domestic LPG is also on our agenda, he added. According to Mr. Sivakumar, fuel retailing will start from later this month in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh where ITC has already set up close to 60 distribution hubs.

Launched in June 2000, ITC’s e-choupal has already become the largest initiative among all internet-based interventions in rural India. The real-time web-based services have reached out to more than a million farmers in over 18,000 villages through kiosks across MP, Karnataka, AP and UP. They grow a range of crops from soyabean, coffee, wheat, rice and pulses and conduct shrimp farming.

Going beyond agri-produce, ITC has started using this infrastructure to market a host of consumer durables, financial products and even automobiles.

"We have recently tied up with companies like TVS and Hero Cycles for marketing two-wheelers and cycles. ICICI Prudential, LIC for insurance products, Eicher for tractors, Tata Agrico for farm equipment and so on. Close to 60 different companies are now using our e-choupal platform," he said.