Unilever chief meets PM, says HUL keen to back Modi
04 Feb 2015
Anglo-Dutch company Unilever is keen to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi's various initiatives such as 'Make in India', 'Smart cities', 'Clean energy' and 'Clean India' to align its business strategy to these, which it thinks will lead to sales growth and to expand margins in the country.
Unilever chief executive Paul Polman met with the Prime Minister on Tuesday to discuss ways for the government to leverage Hindustan Unilever Ltd's presence in rural areas to achieve growth objectives such as eradicating poverty.
''Our companies such as HUL are ideally placed to help ... with products for each of the missions to reach out to millions of people in India,'' said Polman.
The company will push its products while it aligns with the NDA government's growth and development strategy.
''HUL has reached more than 120 million people in India with different programmes. We will be taking these programmes to the government to reach 200 million people by 2019 - the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,'' said Polman.
Highlighting that HUL sourced 98 per cent of its raw materials locally, he said, ''We are very much a 'Make in India' company unlike our competitors.''
He was also hopeful that the PM's strategy would help India grow faster by improving the infrastructure, health and banking sectors, which in turn would aid companies such as HUL to grow and develop the market.
Intel Corporation president Renee James also met Modi in a separate meeting on Tuesday. Intel is planning to increase investments in Indian start-ups.
