Latest news with #Kurien
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Amul debuts in Europe: How did it expand from a small co-operative to a global brand?
Image credits: X/@DeshGujarat 'Utterly, butterly, delicious'! Amul has been the go-to brand for milk-related products for years in India. But now, the Gujarat-based cooperative is expanding to Europe. The brand announced a strategic partnership with Spain's Cooperativa Ganadera del Valle de los Pedroches (COVAP) to introduce its flagship milk product in Spain and the European Union. The rollout will begin in Madrid and Barcelona, followed by cities including Malaga, Valencia, Alicante, Seville, Cordoba and Lisbon in Portugal. From 1946 to 2025, Amul has had an exemplary journey of its own. Here's how it became the global brand it is today. — Amul_Coop (@Amul_Coop) The seeds of Amul were sown in Anand, a small town in Gujarat. The exploitative trade practices followed by the local trade cartel led to a rebellious cooperative movement where the farmers approached Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, seeking a solution. It was his advice that led to the formation of a co-operative as he suggested the farmers remove the middlemen, form their own co-operative and take the procurement, processing and marketing under their control. In 1946, the farmers went on a strike refusing to work under the cartel and under the inspiration of Sardar Patel, Morarji Desai and Tribhuvandas Patel formed a cooperative. Named Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd., the company began with just two village dairy co-operative societies and 247 litres of milk. Tribhuvandas Patel became the founder Chairman along with Dr Verghese Kurien, who was tasked with running the dairy from 1950. In post-independence India where there was a dire need for Milk, Amul came as a needed relief. Kurien led the 'Operation Flood' launched by the National Dairy Development Board which aimed to make India dairy independent. The program created a national milk grid which linked producers throughout the country, eliminating middlemen, reducing regional prices and ensuring that farmers got the majority of the price share. Due to the success of the operation, Kurien was subsequently named 'Father of the White Revolution' Amul's business model Image credits: X/@DeshGujarat The Amul Model of Dairy Development is a three-tiered structure where the dairy cooperative societies at the village level are federated under a milk union at the district level and a federation of member unions at the state level. Tier 1 has village dairy cooperative societies set up in various localities. Every milk producer is a part of this community that elects representatives that manage District Milk Unions. Tier 2 has the District Milk Unions that manage the processing of milk and associated products and sell these to the State Milk Federation. The federation then sells these products in the market. Tier 3 has all these organizations that come under Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited) and the cooperative directly sells products to customers through the milk federation. The revenue is shared in a similar manner. In FY'22, Amul saw a group turnover of INR 61,000 Crores and achieved 18% growth in the previous year, further cementing it as one of the largest FMCG brands in India.
Skift
27-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
The Backstage AI Revolution in Hotels: Kurien Jacob Breaks It Down
Kurien Jacob, Partner and Managing Director at Highgate Technology Ventures, will take the stage at the Skift Data + AI Summit to reveal how AI isn't just enhancing the guest experience, it's rewiring the very infrastructure of hotels. A veteran of the travel, tech, and software sectors with over four decades of experience, Kurien Jacob now leads Highgate Technology Ventures (HTV) as a partner and MD. He's invested in forward-thinking hospitality startups like SevenRooms, LodgIQ, and Laasie. At the Skift Data + AI Summit, Kurien will share why the real AI revolution in travel isn't just guest-facing, it's operational, structural, and accelerating fast. With his session just around the corner, Kurien Jacob shared a few candid thoughts on where the travel industry is missing the mark with AI and what trends he's betting on next. What do you think the travel industry still gets wrong when it comes to applying AI? 'The travel industry still treats AI mostly as a sales and support tool – pushing deals or running chatbots – this is going to be transformative across the industry. This is the only technology that may not require you to be a treasure of experience. I think this is going to kill experience in favor of knowledge, thought processes, intelligence, and a clear open mind for adaptation. This transformation is going to be so fast that your head will spin and non-believers will be left in the dust.' What emerging trends in AI or data are you watching most closely right now? Generative AI 'This is obviously an outcome from the core engine. How does this integrate with the core engine of AI in computing, math, image recognition etc.' AI Agents 'The biggest impact is going to be for travel, accommodations, restaurants as there is a lot of answering questions and doubts. Once you win the trust with Q&A then you focus on task completion such as booking a flight, hotel, restaurant, and activity.' B2B Applications 'Using AI to tailor experiences for B2B customers is key. How do we pass on AI-completed products for customers? In fact, the biggest business shift will probably be SaaS to AI solutions for productivity and software all in one. Companies who get this will be faster to win.' If you had to place a big bet on one AI breakthrough that could reshape travel, what would it be? 'Ok for the customer – Autonomous AI Agents or software connected to personal AI assistants around the world asking questions, wanting to book travel. Ask anything and request execution. That's where commerce may come in. Entire back office of travel or hospitality would be replaced. No longer talking to humans but machines. 95% will be answered by machines and 5% could be touched by humans. Travel and hospitality would be boring as most functions would be done through AI and the differentiation would be with creativity, intelligence, and humor. Think about the internet and multiply it by 10 for this tech. You want to write descriptions for an AI to discover. And here there are no static web pages. It's interactive. We have moved to a conversational age!!' Don't Miss Kurien Jacob at the Skift Data + AI Summit Kurien Jacob is one of the sharpest minds shaping the future of operational AI in hospitality. His session will be a deep dive into the forces already rewriting the industry's playbook. Register now to join the conversation that's redefining travel tech from the ground up. Get Your Tickets 1 Person Solo Ticket $895 Buy Now 2-6 PeOPLE Group Tickets From $815 each Buy Now Who Is Already Joining The Skift Data + AI Summit This June Skift Data + AI Summit in New York City is fast approaching - take a look at who is planning to attend and add your company's name to the list. You won't want to miss this exciting global travel industry event. Read More
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
I-Sec maintains Hold call on LTIMindtree, lowers target price to Rs 4,410
ICICI Securities has maintained its Hold call on LTIMindtree with a revised target price of Rs 4410 (Rs 4,510 earlier). The current market price of LTIMindtree is Rs 4530. LTIMindtree, incorporated in 1996, is a Large Cap company with a market cap of Rs 134329.94 crore, operating in IT Software sector. LTIMindtree's key products/revenue segments include Software Development Charges & Other Services for the year ending 31-Mar-2023. Financials For the quarter ended 31-03-2025, the company has reported a Consolidated Total Income of Rs 10022.90 crore, up 1.51% from last quarter Total Income of Rs 9873.40 crore and up 10.14% from last year same quarter Total Income of Rs 9100.50 crore. The company has reported net profit after tax of Rs 1128.60 crore in the latest quarter. The company?s top management includes Mr.A M Naik, Kurien, Purohit, Chatterjee, Aga, Abraham, Mr.R Shankar Raman, Deshpande, Chaturvedi, Chatterjee, Mr.S N Subrahmanyan, Ramakrishnan. Company has B K Khare & Co. as its auditors. As on 31-03-2025, the company has a total of 30 Crore shares outstanding. Live Events Investment Rationale LTIMindtree reported muted performance with revenue growth down 0.6%/0.7% CC/USD QoQ, underperforming I-Sec estimates. Factors leading to slower growth were: 1) Delayed ramp-up and deferral of deals. 2) Ramp-down in healthcare vertical. 3) Top-5 clients? revenue declining from AI-led gain sharing. LTIMindtree expects the deferred deals to come through in Q1FY26. The margin was in line with I-Sec estimate at 13.8%, flat QoQ. The CEO designate?s three-pronged strategic emphasis on efficiency is expected to improve margin in Q1FY26. ICICI Securities reckons that growth drivers for FY26 look bleak with slow revenue conversion, weakness in top client and a subdued macro. The brokerage builds in modest 6.8% YoY USD growth for FY26E and 67bps QoQ EBIT margin expansion in Q1FY26E. We cut FY26?27E EPS by 3?6%. They have retained HOLD rating, revised target price to Rs 4,410 (Rs 4,510 earlier) on a target P/E of 22x. Promoter/FII Holdings Promoters held 68.57 per cent stake in the company as of 31-Mar-2025, while FIIs owned $ per cent, DIIs 15.45 per cent.
