No, ITC Limited is not an official government Company. It is a major Indian business conglomerate in the private sector with many business interests. In 1910, the company was established, ITC has diversified beyond tobacco products over the past century, but it earns the majority of its income through tobacco products.
ITC Limited operates across six business segments, including Fast Moving Consumer Goods or FMCGs hotels, agribusiness, hospitality packaging, paper products, and Information Technology. In terms of market capitalization, ITC is the third-largest tobacco company in the world. It is also the second largest FMCG company in the world.
Here’s a quick review of ITC Limited
| Details | Info |
| Founded | 24 th August 1910 |
| Founder | William M. Jacks |
| Headquarters | Kolkata |
| Chairman | Sanjiv Puri |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Products | Cigarettes, FMCGs, Packaging, Paperboards, Specialty Paper, Agri, IT |
| Brands | Aashirwad, Bingo, Fiama, Mangaldeep, Master Chef |
| Official Website | www.itcportal.com |
ITC Company History
ITC was founded on the 24 the 24th August 1910 under the name Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. The company joined forces together with South Indian tobacco producers to create The Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Company Limited in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh in the year 1912. In 1925, it commenced the packaging and printing industry as a way of integrating cigarettes backwards.
In 1953, it bought the manufacturing operations from Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Limited. This name changed later in 1953 to India Tobacco Company Limited. In the following years, the company was changed to ITC Limited. ITC Limited entered the hotel business in the beginning of the 1970s with a high-end chain of hotels such as ITC Hotels, Welcomhotel, Fortune and Mementos.
ITC Limited established agri business to export commodity products in 1990. The company moved into the IT solutions market by forming ITC Infotech as a wholly-owned subsidiary in the year 2000. ITC started it’s FMCG business in 2001. It established its department of specialty and paperboard in 2002.
Current Status
ITC Limited has 11 business divisions, and an assortment of greater than 25 brand names including well-known brands like Aashirwad, Bingo, Master Chef, Fiama, Vivel, B Natural, Sunbean, Engage, Classmate, Paperkraft and Mangaldeep. The company has concluded the demerger of its hotel operations with the intention of retaining 40% of the stake. ITC Hotels now operates independently.
ITC Limited is the only firm with its size and variety to be carbon neutral and water positive as well as solid waste recycling-friendly. ITC Limited has helped create more than 9 million viable livelihoods for the future, primarily for rural India.
ITC Limited is among the leading private sector companies in India and has a total revenue of INR 73,465 crores and an EBITDA at 24,025 million at the time at 31 of the month of March in 2025.
Future Outlook
The ITC Limited’s FMCG and non-cigarette segments are expected to contribute to the growth rate to double-digits for the business. The core business of the company, cigarette manufacturing, is under pressure because of the an increase in GST and excise duty. Yet, FMCG, paperboards and packaging, agribusiness and IT are expected to maintain steady growth.
