ITC's Classmate announces Classmate Ideas for India Challenge
August 23, 2010
ITC, one of India's largest multi-business conglomerates, is turning 100 this August. As part of ITC's centenary initiative, its Education & Stationery Products brand, Classmate, has launched a unique programme - Classmate Ideas for India challenge. Engaging the youth of the country, the nation-wide programme invites the ideas of the youth which have the potential to transform their India of tomorrow. Classmate Ideas for India challenge will reach out to 25 lakh students across 30 cities, 500 schools & 200 colleges. Amongst the largest student contact programs to be organized by any brand, Classmate Ideas for India challenge will provide a platform for the youth to express & bring alive their innovative ideas that not only address the multifarious challenges confronting the nation today but also contribute in taking the country to a higher orbit of growth & development. With program partners like the CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, WWF-India, Tony Blair Faith Foundation, Janaagraha, Akshaya Patra Foundation and many other organizations of repute, the program will encourage the finalists with an internship with relevant program partners, besides cash prizes & other rewards. Additionally, top 5 winners will be sent to a 1 week international study tour.
Says Chand Das, Chief Executive of ITC's Education & Stationery Products Business (ESPB), "Today's youth is not just imaginative & creative but also equally opinionated on issues that challenge growth and development of the country. They want to be taken as serious partners in the nation building process, shaping the India of their dreams. Classmate Ideas for India challenge provides them with a one of its kind platform on which they can express their ideas for India in the relevant spheres of science and technology, environment protection, education, social & religious tolerance, infrastructure build-up, and emerging India. We are confident that from amongst the youth of today, many meritorious ideas will emerge that could power our India of tomorrow. And who better than Classmate to provide this opportunity as the brand at its very core believes in the big ideas that are there in each one of us & how these ideas could be brought alive to make a real change."
Commenting on the eve of launching the contest, Nazeeb Arif, Vice President, Corporate Communications, ITC Ltd said "ITC's Centenary is a momentous milestone in the company's history. Echoing ITC's credo of "Lets Put India First", the Classmate Ideas for India Challenge will be an exciting opportunity for the youth to express their ideas and innovations which can help build the India of Tomorrow. India belongs to the youth, comprising half the country, and their vision of a Dream India can usher in a completely new future"
ITC's Classmate is a leading player in the Rs 6000 Crore market for stationery products comprising notebooks, pens, pencils & scholastics which is today growing at a rate of 9-10%. Already the largest national brand in the student notebooks space, Classmate has recently expanded its portfolio with successful launches of a range of other stationery products such as pens, pencils and geometry boxes. Classmate is also endorsed by youth icons, stylish Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh & multi-faceted Soha Ali Khan.
The Classmate Ideas for India programme is being partnered by the ITC Welcomgroup, Travel House and the event is conceptualized and being managed by Krayon.
