British India Corporation

Central Public Sector Undertaking

26°28′35″N 80°20′23″E / 26.476393°N 80.339617°E / 26.476393; 80.339617

British India Corporation
Company type	Central Public Sector Undertaking
Industry	Woollen Mills
Founded	1872
Headquarters	Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Number of employees	1,800

British India Corporation Limited (BIC) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. The CPSU produces textiles for use by civilians and the Indian armed forces. It manufactures the popular "Lal-imli" and "Dhariwal" brands of woollen products. The CPSU was established in 1872 or 1876 by Sir Alexander MacRobert^[1] as a CPSU^[2] when he combined his six companies into one enterprise.^[1] MacRobert died on 22 June 1922^[3]^[a] and his widow, Rachel, Lady MacRobert, assumed the role of director^[5] until her eldest son, Alasdair, became chairman in 1937.^[6]

Its date of incorporation in the Registrar of Companies is 24 February 1920.^[7] In 1981, it was nationalised and taken over by the Government of India.^[2] It has not generated profit since 1989.^[8]

Headquartered in Kanpur, BIC nominally operates two woollen mills in Kanpur and Dhariwal (Punjab). In 2006 the CPSU employed over 2,700 people and had aggregated revenues of ₹373 million (US$4.7 million).^[9]^[10]

It ceased manufacturing in 2005, but still employs 1,800 people. New weaving machines installed in 2005 have never been used.^[8]^[11]

References

Notes

^ Sir Alexander changed the spelling of his name from McRobert to MacRobert when he was awarded a baronetcy.^[4]

Citations

^ ^a ^b Miller (2014), p. 109
^ ^a ^b "UP Govt Unveils Revival Package For British India Corporation", Financial Express, 28 January 2003
^ "Death of Sir A. McRobert", The Times, no. 43065, p. 11, 23 June 1922
^ Miller (2014), p. 9
^ "Lady MacRobert", The Times, no. 53026, p. 8, 2 September 1954
^ Miller (2014), p. 128
^ "BRITISH INDIA CORPORATION LIMITED". Zauba Corp.
^ ^a ^b "Modi seeks to revive India's 'zombie factories', not abandon them", Reuters, 12 October 2014
^ "British India Corporation, Balance sheet" (PDF), Department of Public Enterprises, archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011
^ "British India Corporation Ltd" (PDF), Ministry of Textiles, archived from the original on 19 June 2009
^ "History Of Lal Imli Kanpur: Know once this mill was the identity of Kanpur, now it is imprisoned in the pages of history". Yugantar Pravah. Retrieved 26 April 2023.