 "The business of Swachh Bharat: These companies will make a killing on Modi's drive")
Swachh Bharat Mission is beyond politics, insisted prime minister Narendra Modi today launching the programme in Delhi.
“I am not talking politics…This is beyond politics. This is inspired my patriotism not politcs. We do not have to do with an eye on politics…I say that with a clean heart…,” media reports have quoted him as saying.
Modi may indeed want to keep the mission beyond politics, but, whether he likes it or not, it is definitely not beyond business.
According to various media reports, companies in sectors such as consumer goods, sanitary ware and retail are likely to cash in on the prime minister’s Rs 65,000 crore drive for a clean country. This is because the companies expect sales of their cleaning products to surge as part of the drive.
Among the companies that are likely to get a sales boost are Reckitt Benckiser, Hindustan Unilever, Dabur, Future group, Cera Sanitaryware and Somany Ceramics.
Reckitt Benckiser and Hindustan Unilever between them sell many cleanser brands such as Lizol, Dettol, Harpic, Domex and Colin.
“In the long term, as more and more people adopt healthy hygiene practices, our products like Dettol and Harpic will become relevant for them,” Nitish Kapoor, MD, Reckitt Benckiser, has been quoted as saying in a report in The Economic Times. He hopes the Swachh Bharat Mission to spruce up the company’s sales significantly.
According to the report, the company’s Harpic enjoyed 69 percent market share in the toilet care segment in 2013.
A report in the Mint today said shares of sanitary ware makers have been rising ever since Modi pitched for a cleanliness drive in the Independence Day speech.
“The sanitaryware sector’s estimated revenues are at Rs 3,000 crore, with annual growth of 12%. The Swachh Bharat scheme may push the growth to 15%,” Abhishek Somany, joint managing director of Somany Ceramics Ltd, has been quoted as saying in the Mint report. The company wants to contribute to Swachh Bharat Mission, it said.
Read the reports here and here .