ITC Limited or ITC is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. Its diversified business includes five segments: Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Hotels, Paperboards & Packaging, Agri Business & Information Technology.
Established in 1910 as the Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, the company was renamed as the Indian Tobacco Company Limited in 1970 and further to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. The periods in the name were removed in September 2001 for the company to be renamed as ITC Ltd. The company completed 100 years in 2010 and as of 2012-13, had an annual turnover of US$8.31 billion and a market capitalisation of US$45 billion. It employs over 25,000 people at more than 60 locations across India and is part of Forbes 2000 list.
ITC was formed on 24 August 1910 under the name of Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, and the company went public on 27 October 1954. The earlier decades of the company's activities centered mainly around tobacco products. In the 1970s, it diversified into non-tobacco businesses.
In 1975, the company acquired a hotel in Chennai, which was renamed the 'ITC-Welcomgroup Hotel Chola' (now renamed to MyFortune, Chennai).
In 1985, ITC set up Surya Tobacco Co. in Nepal as an Indo-Nepali and British joint venture, with the shares divided between ITC, British American Tobacco and various independent domestic shareholders in Nepal. In 2002, Surya Tobacco became a subsidiary of ITC and its name was changed to Surya Nepal Private Limited.
In 2000, ITC launched the Expressions range of greeting cards the Wills Sport range of casual wear, and a wholly owned information technology subsidiary, ITC Infotech India Limited.
In 2001, ITC introduced the Kitchens of India brand of ready-to-eat gourmet Indian recipes.
In 2002, ITC entered the confectionery and staples segments and acquired the Bhadrachalam Paperboards Division and the safety matches company WIMCO Limited.
ITC entered the Agarbattis (incense sticks) business in 2003, selling its products under the Mangaldeep brand.
ITC diversified into body care products in 2005.
In 2010, ITC launched its handrolled cigar - Armenteros - in the Indian market.
The company began online sales in 2014.
As per the Annual report of the company, it had 25,962 employees as on 31 March 2013, out of which 3,043 were women. It spent Rs. 2,145 crores on Employee benefits during the FY 2012-13. During the same year, its attrition rate was 12%. Its Chairman Y C Deveshwar has won renowned awards and recognitions including Padma Bhushan from Govt. of India and 7th best performing CEO in the world by Harvard Business Review.
Meera Shankar, Indian ambassador to USA between 2009 and 2011, joined the board of ITC Limited as the first woman director in its history. She is an additional non-executive director of the company.
Source: Wikipedia.
