Kwality Ltd, a reputed dairy firm recently signed an agreement with Bank of Baroda for providing Rs 4,000 crore loans to the former's one lakh farmers from whom the company procures milk.
In a filing to BSE, Kwality said, “it has signed an MoU with Bank of Baroda to disburse Rs 4,000 crore of loan to its one lakh farmers in initial phase out of its established network".
The company has a network of about 3.25 lakh across about 4,500 villages in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan which are amongst the largest milk producing states of India.
Kwality Ltd would attend to the remaining farmers in successive phases over a period of time.
The dairy brand emphasised that the funds would be available at preferential rate and shall be utilised primarily towards purchasing of milching animals, smartphone and two wheelers. The scheme is aimed at providing financial assistance to improve socio-economic lives of farmers and guide them towards digitisation.
Regarding the event, Nawal Sharma, company's President and Head Business Transformation said, "This is a win-win situation for all the three stakeholders which are farmers, bank and company. This will help in increasing our direct sourcing of milk from farmers and faster rolling out of high-margin value added products thereby improving the profitability."
As per Nawal, Bank of Baroda would get a readily available customer base for the priority sector lending and would also get operational support from the company in identification of farmers and payment management system.
Nawal said, "Farmers will get financial assistance at attractive terms with which they can create additional infrastructure leading to higher income. This will also promote digitisation among farmers.”
He also said that farmers would get loans up to Rs 4 lakh at less than 9 per cent interest rates. Furthermore, he said, "It would allow us to develop a robust engine to increase our procurement directly from farmers who currently contribute 22 per cent of our total milk handling capacity of 3.4 mn litres/day, pinpointing that the company is targeting to increase direct procurement to over 50 per cent over the next 3-4 years.
Kwality plans to roll out 10-12 variants of high margin value-added products such as flavoured milk, paneer, cheese, UHT, cream in tetra packs, table-butter, yoghurts, amongst others over next 12-18 months.
Dine Brands International has signed an agreement with Minhas Holdings’ Saeed Minhas to launch the IHOP brand to exclusive locations in the Greater Toronto Area. With this agreement, the company will develop 15 new IHOP locations over seven years.
The first location is likely to launch mid-year 2020. The new locations will create approximately 900 jobs and contribute up to $15 million to the construction industry in the Greater Toronto Area.
Saeed Minhas, CEO of Minhas Holdings, said, “IHOP is a strong brand with a huge fan base around the world, and we are excited to expand its presence in Canada. We can’t wait for guests in the Greater Toronto Area to experience the brand’s warm hospitality and commitment to quality in its breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu offerings.”
Steve Joyce, Chief Executive Officer, Dine Brands Global, stated, “Canada was the first international market we opened for IHOP back in 1969, making this year our 50th anniversary in the country. Canada continues to be a key market in our international development and growth strategy.”
“The opportunity to partner with Saeed Minhas as a franchisee was also a major factor in our decision. In addition to his work as a real-estate developer, Saeed has valuable experience in the hospitality industry as a franchisee for Marriott and IHG as well as local market knowledge and presence,” Joyce added.
William Urrego, Vice President of International Operations, Dine Brands Global, said, “Canada is a great strategic business choice for expansion outside of the U.S. for many reasons including geographic proximity and great brand awareness. We are interested in further expanding our presence in Canada and we are looking for great partners to take that step with us.”
ITC Ltd's agri-biotech arm Technico Agri Sciences has signed an agreement with Scotland-based James Hutton Institute to bring in 16 new varieties and 600 new clones of potato for trial and testing in India.
ITC said in a statement, "These differentiated varieties promise to further benefit India's farmers and the potato processing industry as well as help in promoting potato exports. The agreement is initially for a period of five years and is extendable."
Sachid Madan, Chief Executive, Technico Agri Sciences, said, "We have been engaging extensively with farmers and processors to help improve farm yield in potatoes significantly. The improvement in yields along with better prices for such varieties has contributed to the doubling of farmer incomes in states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and others and has also facilitated exports and processing. This landmark agreement is yet another substantive step in maximising returns for farmers, particularly for the potato crop farmers."
Dr Jonathan Snape, Head of James Hutton Limited, the commercial arm of the James Hutton Institute, added, "Our mission is to be at the forefront of innovative and transformative science for sustainable management of land, crop and natural resources that support thriving communities. Since potato farming provides livelihood to a significant section of India's agricultural community, we are hopeful that our tie-up with Technico will help these communities effectively."
Ending its 20-year deal with Coca-Cola, Jubilant FoodWorks, which runs Domino's Pizza and Dunkin Donuts restaurant chains, has signed PepsiCo as its new beverage partner for Domino's Pizza India.
Jubilant FoodWorks will now sell the entire portfolio of carbonated beverages of PepsiCo, which includes Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7Up, and Mirinda along with Lipton Ice Tea, across all Domino's restaurants in India.
Pratik Pota, Chief Executive Officer & Whole-time Director, Jubilant FoodWorks, said, "We are delighted to announce PepsiCo as the beverage partner for Domino's Pizza India. The partnership will bring in fresh focus on our beverage portfolio. We look forward to offering greater beverage variety and thereby enhancing the Domino's Pizza experience for our guests."
Ahmed ElSheikh, President & CEO, PepsiCo India, also stated, "PepsiCo is honored to be the preferred beverage partner for Jubilant FoodWorks across its Domino's Pizza outlets nationwide. Domino's consumers will now be able to choose from a range of their favorite PepsiCo beverage brands across carbonated soft drinks and Lipton Ice Tea with their meals. This partnership further strengthens our position in the food service segment in India and consumers can look forward to some exciting new experiences."
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