The new era will be driven by digital initiatives: Sanjiv Puri at IIM Udaipur convocation

Addressing students at IIM Udaipur's Annual Convocation, Sanjiv Puri, Chairman, ITC reiterated the importance of digital solutions and the reach of such initiatives. “This is the beginning of a new era, a new journey of change, which is going to be driven by digital and sustainability and layered on that is going to be the dynamics of the geopolitics, as we are all witnessing," he said.

Illustrating ITC’s experience, he said that just before the first lockdown, the company was working with over two lakh farmers to empower them to double their incomes. Due to restrictions on movement, the training faced challenges and overnight, the exercise was pivoted to digital. The ITC Chairman recalled how the team was unsure whether it would work, as they had not followed a digital-only strategy before, and that too with the farmers.

Emphasising on the significance of sustainability, the ITC chief said that the very existence of our planet is under threat due to climate change. There is a forecast that by 2030, 20 of the top 30 cities in India will not have enough groundwater if global warming continues at this rate.


This can be a very serious crisis, he said. “Businesses, as large economic organs of society, need to do their bit in combating this crisis. In fact, in my view, now is the right time for the corporates to embed society value-creation at the core of their business strategies, he said.”