There has been a slow start in the sale of fertilisers in the current kharif season due to deficit rainfall in the last two months, according to Murugappa Group executive chairman, A Vellayan.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, he, however, said one had to observe the next three weeks to see how the rainfall “pans out”.
Stating that fertiliser sales had picked up in July in the last two years, Vellayan said the current situation on the weather front was “not as grim as it was predicted and the indications are positive.” Rainfall deficit in the group's addressable markets of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa had already declined to 15 per cent.
To a question, he said the overall sugar production in the country this year was expected to touch 25 million tonnes.
Coromandel extends support to local school
Coromandel International Limited has a signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IIM Ahmedabad Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter Charitable Trust (IIMAAA) to provide financial assistance to the tune of Rs 4.55 crore to Udbhav School in Rasoolpura of Secunderabad
According to the MoU, a common trust would be created by Coromandel and IIMAAA and both would contribute Rs 3.5 crore each to its corpus. This apart, the Murugappa group company would give Rs 35 lakh a year for a period of three years for sustenance of day-to-day operations of the school.
The annual expenditure of the school, currently managed by IIMAAA, has been estimated at Rs 70 lakh. It has over 600 students whose parents income per month do not exceed Rs 3,500. The school imparts holistic education with the goal of making every child “life ready”.
Vellayan said the group had always looked beyond business and was contributing 1 per cent of its net profit towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Accordingly, it had spent up to Rs 13 crore last financial year on the initiatives in the fields of education and healthcare. From 2014-15 onwards, the group would earmark 2 per cent of its net profit for CSR initiatives.
