ITC Limited
Indian diversified conglomerate with major businesses in tobacco, fast-moving consumer goods, hotels, agribusiness, paperboards, packaging, and information technology.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
ITC Limited is an Indian diversified conglomerate headquartered in Kolkata. Established in 1910 as the Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, it began as a British-owned tobacco business and developed its early operations around cigarette manufacturing, tobacco procurement, printing, packaging, and related industrial capabilities. Although tobacco remains central to the group and contributes a plurality of its revenue, ITC has progressively built a broad portfolio of non-tobacco businesses. The company operates across cigarettes and other tobacco products, packaged foods, personal care, education and stationery products, hotels, paperboards and specialty papers, packaging, agribusiness, and information technology. Its consumer brands include Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, Bingo!, YiPPee!, Savlon, Fiama, Classmate, and Wills Navy Cut. These businesses give ITC a substantial presence in Indian mass-market consumer goods, where its strategy has generally combined national distribution, brand building, agricultural sourcing, and the use of internal manufacturing and packaging capabilities. ITC's tobacco history dates to its registration in Kolkata on 24 August 1910. The company began working with Indian tobacco farmers in 1911 and established the Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Company in Andhra Pradesh in 1912. Its first cigarette factory was established in Bangalore in 1913. During the following decades, ITC expanded its manufacturing and supply-chain base, including the construction of Virginia House in Kolkata, the acquisition of the Carreras Tobacco Company's Kidderpore factory in 1935, the development of domestic cigarette tissue-paper production in 1946, and the establishment of printing and packaging facilities in Madras in 1949. From the late twentieth century onward, ITC pursued diversification beyond cigarettes. Its hotel business became a significant hospitality operation, while its agribusiness connected farmers and agricultural commodities with domestic and export markets. Paperboards, specialty papers, packaging, foods, personal care, stationery, and information technology further broadened the group. ITC has also used sustainability and rural-development programs as important elements of its corporate positioning, particularly in agricultural sourcing, watershed development, social forestry, and support for rural livelihoods. The company changed its name from Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited to India Tobacco Company Limited in 1970, then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974, and finally to ITC Limited in 2001. The company has stated that ITC is no longer an abbreviation. Its equity shares are listed in India, and its global depository receipts have been listed in Luxembourg. British American Tobacco has historically remained a major shareholder, while Life Insurance Corporation of India is also a significant shareholder. In the 2020s, ITC continued to reorganize its portfolio. Its board approved the separation of the hotel business into ITC Hotels, and the demerger became effective on 1 January 2025. In 2025, ITC announced and completed acquisitions in pulp and paper and natural foods, expanding its presence in adjacent consumer and industrial categories. Sanjiv Puri serves as Chairman and Managing Director. The group remains active across tobacco and non-tobacco sectors, with its identity increasingly framed around a multi-business Indian enterprise rather than solely a cigarette company.
History
ITC Limited was incorporated in Kolkata on 24 August 1910 as the Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. Its origins lay in the Indian tobacco market and in the activities associated with Imperial Brands and W.D. & H.O. Wills. The early company was British-owned, but its operating model increasingly depended on Indian agricultural supply, manufacturing, and distribution. In 1911 it began partnerships with tobacco farmers in southern India, and in 1912 it established the Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Company in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh to strengthen domestic leaf-tobacco sourcing. ITC opened its first cigarette factory in Bangalore in 1913. The business subsequently invested in physical infrastructure and vertically related capabilities. Construction of Virginia House, the company's headquarters in Kolkata, began in 1928. In 1935, ITC acquired the Carreras Tobacco Company's factory at Kidderpore, reinforcing its cigarette manufacturing base. During and after the Second World War, the company expanded into supporting industrial activities. It helped establish an Indian cigarette tissue-paper plant in 1946, reducing dependence on imported material, and created a printing and packaging factory in Madras in 1949. In 1953, it acquired the manufacturing business of Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Limited together with the related lithographic printing business of Printers (India) Limited. The company's name changed as its corporate identity evolved. In 1970 it became the India Tobacco Company Limited, in 1974 it adopted the name I.T.C. Limited, and in 2001 it became ITC Limited. The change reflected a long-term attempt to present the organization as a diversified enterprise rather than a tobacco-only company. Diversification produced businesses in hotels, agribusiness, paperboards and specialty papers, packaging, information technology, branded foods, personal care, stationery, and other fast-moving consumer goods. The consumer-goods portfolio grew through brands addressing everyday Indian consumption categories. Aashirvaad developed in staples and packaged foods; Sunfeast in biscuits and related foods; Bingo! in snacks; YiPPee! in noodles; Savlon and Fiama in personal care; and Classmate in stationery and education products. At the same time, ITC retained a major cigarette business, with brands such as Wills Navy Cut. Its agribusiness connected agricultural procurement and commodity trading with its consumer and export businesses, while paper and packaging operations supported both internal requirements and external customers. ITC's corporate development has also included cultural and social initiatives. In 1978 it founded the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata to support Hindustani classical music. The company has promoted rural development, social forestry, watershed work, and livelihood programs alongside its commercial activities. These initiatives became part of its sustainability-oriented corporate narrative and helped connect its agricultural and manufacturing operations with wider development goals. Yogesh Chander Deveshwar led ITC for many years and was associated with the company's transformation into a diversified conglomerate. After his tenure, Sanjiv Puri became Chief Executive Officer in 2017, Managing Director in 2018, and Chairman in 2019. In the 2020s, ITC continued portfolio reshaping. The board approved the hotel-business demerger in 2023, and the separation became effective on 1 January 2025. ITC also expanded through the pulp and paper transaction involving Aditya Birla Real Estate and the acquisition of Sresta Natural Bioproducts. The company therefore entered its latest phase as a diversified Indian group retaining tobacco as a core business while pursuing branded consumer goods, industrial materials, agribusiness, and related growth areas.
- 2025
Hotel demerger takes effect
[1]The hotel-business demerger became effective on 1 January 2025.
- 2025
Pulp and paper acquisition announced
[1]ITC announced the acquisition of the pulp and paper business of Aditya Birla Real Estate.
- 2025
Sresta Natural Bioproducts acquisition completed
[1]ITC completed the acquisition of Sresta Natural Bioproducts.
- 2023
Hotel-business demerger approved
[1]The board approved the separation of the hotel business into ITC Hotels.
- 2019
Sanjiv Puri becomes Chairman
[1]Sanjiv Puri became Chairman of ITC after serving as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.
- 2017
Sanjiv Puri becomes Chief Executive Officer
[1]Sanjiv Puri was appointed Chief Executive Officer.
- 2001
Name changed to ITC Limited
[1]The company adopted its current name and stated that ITC was no longer an abbreviation.
- 1978
ITC Sangeet Research Academy founded
[1]ITC founded the Kolkata-based academy to support Hindustani classical music.
- 1970
Company renamed India Tobacco Company Limited
[1]The company changed its name from Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited.
- 1953
Tobacco and lithographic businesses acquired
[1]ITC acquired the manufacturing business of Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Limited and the related lithographic printing business of Printers (India) Limited.
Products and positioning
A diversified Indian conglomerate combining a historically dominant tobacco business with branded consumer goods, hospitality, agribusiness, paper and packaging, and technology operations. Its positioning emphasizes scale in India, broad distribution, domestic sourcing, brand-led FMCG growth, and corporate sustainability.
Tobacco · 1910
Cigarettes and tobacco products
ITC's tobacco business is the company's historical foundation and remains its largest core activity. It manufactures and markets cigarettes and related tobacco products for the Indian market, including the Wills Navy Cut brand. Tobacco also supports associated capabilities in leaf procurement, cigarette materials, printing, packaging, and manufacturing.
Packaged foods
Aashirvaad
Aashirvaad is ITC's staples and packaged-food brand, associated with products such as flour and other everyday food ingredients. It uses the group's agricultural sourcing, processing, quality-control, and distribution capabilities to serve household consumers in India.
Biscuits and packaged foods
Sunfeast
Sunfeast is a consumer-foods brand focused primarily on biscuits and related packaged products. It forms part of ITC's effort to build a broad national FMCG portfolio beyond tobacco through mass retail distribution and differentiated branded offerings.
Snacks
Bingo!
Bingo! is ITC's branded snack-food line. The brand operates in India's packaged-snacks category and complements the company's broader portfolio of convenience foods and impulse-consumption products.
Instant noodles and packaged foods
YiPPee!
YiPPee! is ITC's instant-noodles and convenience-food brand. It extends the company's FMCG presence into quick-preparation foods and is distributed through the same broad Indian consumer-goods network used by its other food brands.
Personal care and hygiene
Savlon
Savlon is ITC's hygiene and personal-care brand. Its portfolio is associated with products used for everyday cleansing, sanitation, and personal hygiene, supporting ITC's expansion into health-adjacent consumer categories.
Personal care
Fiama
Fiama is a personal-care brand associated with bathing and body-care products. It forms part of ITC's branded consumer-products portfolio and competes in India's packaged personal-care market.
Stationery and education products
Classmate
Classmate is ITC's stationery and education-products brand. It covers everyday school and office stationery and illustrates the group's use of branded distribution outside food, personal care, and tobacco.
Hotels and hospitality
ITC Hotels
ITC Hotels was the group's hotel and hospitality business before its demerger became effective on 1 January 2025. The business represented ITC's long-standing diversification into luxury, business, and destination hospitality.
Paper and packaging · 1946
Paperboards, specialty papers, and packaging
ITC manufactures paperboards and specialty papers and operates packaging businesses serving internal and external customers. These capabilities have historical links to its tobacco operations and have become an important industrial platform in their own right.
Agriculture and commodities · 1911
Agribusiness
ITC's agribusiness activities include agricultural sourcing and commodity-related operations. The segment connects Indian farmers and agricultural supply chains with the company's food businesses, export activity, and industrial requirements.
Information technology
Information technology services
ITC has an information-technology business within its diversified group structure. The segment provides technology-related capabilities alongside the company's consumer, agricultural, hospitality, paper, packaging, and tobacco operations.
Marketing campaigns
- 1978ITC Sangeet Research Academy
India
ITC founded and operates the Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata to promote and preserve Hindustani classical music through research and musical training.
Outcome. The academy became a long-running cultural initiative associated with ITC.
Brand decisions
2025
Acquire Aditya Birla Real Estate's pulp and paper businessM&ABackground
ITC pursued expansion in paper and pulp-related industrial materials.
Action taken
ITC announced the acquisition of the pulp and paper business of Aditya Birla Real Estate.
Aftermath
The transaction expanded ITC's paper and packaging platform.
2025
Acquire Sresta Natural BioproductsM&ABackground
ITC sought to expand its branded foods portfolio into natural and organic products.
Action taken
ITC completed the acquisition of 100 percent of Sresta Natural Bioproducts.
Aftermath
Sresta became part of ITC's consumer-products portfolio.
2023
Separate the hotel business into ITC HotelsStrategyBackground
ITC's board approved a restructuring intended to separate the hotel business from the diversified parent.
Action taken
The board approved the demerger and the creation of ITC Hotels as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Aftermath
The demerger became effective on 1 January 2025.
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