Patanjali to spend Rs 500 crore on cow protection

The four ‘gaushalas’ or cow shelters will work on improving productivity of Indian cows up to 10 times

Days after declaring a war against foreign goods, Baba Ramdev on Saturday announced a mission to save cows. Patanjali Ayurved will invest Rs 500 crore in four mega shelters for cows across the country.

The four ‘gaushalas’ or cow shelters will work on improving productivity of Indian cows up to 10 times. “We are setting up four scientific cow shelters. The first one will come up at Uttarakhand,” Ramdev said.

Apart from investing in research on cows, Patanjali has spent Rs 250 crore for research on usage of ayurveda in modern life. It will spend another Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) on research, Ramdev told reporters on Saturday.

To ramp up its production capacity, Patanjali is setting up five mega food parks. Land parcels have already been identified and work will start within this year.

“We have bought 230 acres of land in Nagpur and 200 acres in Andhra Pradesh. We will set up three food parks in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Assam,” he said.

Ramdev said his dream it make Patanjali the largest player in fast-moving consumer goods segment with annual revenue of Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion).

The food park at Nagpur, which is expected to become operational in next couple of months, will focus on dairy business and cow protection. While Patanjali already sells dairy products such as ghee, Ramdev wants to expand both the portfolio and reach.

Taking a dig at the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) - the self-regulatory body in the field of advertisement - Ramdev alleged it is targeting Patanjali because it is run and controlled by multinationals. He said Patanjali will soon file defamation case against ASCI. Patanjali has received 27 show-cause notices in recent months from the advertising body.

“Its governing members constitute firms like the Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and PepsiCo, among others. ASCI is deliberately targeting us as we have become a major concern for multination firms. When we decided to take legal action against ASCI, it offered us a membership. We are writing a letter highlighting all their wrong-doings to the government of India,” Ramdev said.

Photograph: PTI Photo