FMCG Industry Snapshot

Bathinda. I hired 35 acres at between Rs 40,000 and Rs 47,000 per acre. On 18

acres, I sowed basmati. The average yield was 16 quintal per acre. I have sold the
produce at rates ranging between Rs 2,100 and Rs 2,240 per quintal, meaning
earnings of just around Rs 33,000 an acre against the rent of Rs 40,000 a loss of
Rs 7,000 an acre. This is without the cost of my labour and other inputs like
electricity, water etc, he says, adding that he had transported his produce from
Bathinda to Kotkapura, 55-km away, expecting better rates. This is not an isolated
case. The same story of unsustainable losses, especially in basmati, is repeated by
farmers across the region. I sowed basmati on 10 acres and stored it for over two
months, expecting a better price. Finally, I sold it for Rs 2,230 a quintal on Tuesday
and earned Rs 35,000 per acre. This does not even cover the land rent. Paddy, on
the other hand, fetched Rs 40,000 per acre, says Naib Singh, a farmer from Lande
village, Moga, who also transported his produce to the Kotkapura grain market.

Practo to expand into fitness and personal care segments

Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, one of Indias most funded online healthcare startups, has decided to look beyond doctors and diagnostic labs and expand to spas
and fitness centres. The categories have been live on Practos website since early
December, confirmed a company spokesperson. Practos planned expansion into
these segments comes eight months after it acquired Delhi-based fitness and
health solutions firm FitHo Wellness Services Pvt. Ltd. Practo started in 2008 as a
product company offering practice management software to doctors using a
software-as-service model, in which software is licensed on a subscription basis to
customers. In 2013, it launched a consumer-facing doctor discovery and

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FMCG Industry Snapshot

appointment booking site and added diagnostics as a category in July this year. The
online service provider will now aggregate spas, salons and fitness
centrescategories that many start-ups have tapped but in which no clear winner
has emerged as yet. We are currently testing out various models. These tests are
being run in multiple cities and of course at launch we will have a reasonably large
footprint in India, a Practo spokesperson said in response to an emailed query.
The company now earns its revenue from the practice management software
Practo Ray and a sponsored listing service for hospital and clinics called Practo
Reach. Listing is free for doctors and consumers are not charged for searches.

Philip Morris eyes Godfrey Brands; in talks to take control of cigarette

brands
Global tobacco giant Philip Morris International has initiated talks with its Indian
partner, KK Modi-led Godfrey Philips India (GPI), in an attempt to take control of
the cigarette brands. After working together for 36 years, the current round of
discussions about a company in a highly restricted sector that bars any foreign
direct investment in manufacturing of tobacco or tobacco products like cigarettes,
centre around creating legal structures that comply with regulations, said sources
aware of the matter. One structure being considered involves a possible splitting of
Godfrey Philips India - the listed flagship - into two with one entity focussing solely
on manufacturing with the other housing all the GPI brands including Four Square,
Red & White and Cavenders, along with its marketing and distribution
infrastructure. In the structure envisaged the former stays under Indian control
and acts as a contract manufacturer while Philip Morris will take over the latter. If

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