But ITC's socially-relevant programmes may come to its rescue to support the gestation of new businesses.
These initiatives have already helped it consolidate among what management guru C K Prahalad refers to as India's next billion - the market indispensable to businesses that want to grow.
While ITC's exports continue to strengthen farmers, who are its key suppliers, the spread of Choupal Sagars has ensured that the company's FMCG products (except for the high-end) are within reach of the rural population.
"For a two-hour downtime, I can tell my people that we have deprived some one of employment because that much less pulp is being processed which links back to fewer trees planted and so on," says Dhobale.
So there, a whole new yardstick now measures the work done in ITC's offices and in the outfields, compelling the rest of the world to take a whole new view of the company.
Photograph: Courtesy, ITC
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