Reliance has Rs 4,000 cr plan for Punjab, Haryana

Reliance Industries plans to invest nearly Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) in Punjab and Haryana for its proposed foray in agri-business.

Sources close to the development said the company, which is chalking out big plans for the retail sector, has tied up with the Punjab and Haryana governments for a few projects.

They added that Reliance had tied up more than 900 acres of land in Punjab. This comes a day after it was allotted 28 acres of land in Haryana for setting up two projects at an investment of Rs 93 crore (Rs 930 million).

Reliance would build an airstrip and buy cargo aircraft to transport farm and dairy products out of Punjab and Haryana and fruits from Himachal Pradesh, they added. It might enter into contract farming agreements with local farmers in these states.

Reliance was also in talks with other states, particularly West Bengal, for similar arrangements. Its agri-business would be part of the retail business and involve building warehouses, cold storages, processing plants, retail and distribution outlets across the country.

For the retail business, the company had announced an investment of Rs 3,375 crore (Rs 33.75 billion). It would set up a subsidiary to run hypermarkets, convenience stores and supermarkets across 800 towns and cities. The number of these stores will be 775 in next five years.

On the recruitment front too, the company has big plans. Industry sources said the company would pay nearly Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) in salaries for the retail division alone in its first year of operations.

Recently, Reliance appointed former Unilever Nigeria chief Gunender Kapur as CEO of its food and grocery division. Raghu Pillai has also joined the retail business as CEO, strategic operations. He was managing director of retail home solutions at Pantaloon.

According to industry sources, the retail business of Reliance will have as many as 25 high profile CEOs and over 150 middle-rung professionals.

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