• Source: Dharampal Satyapal Group

The DS Group (Dharampal Satyapal Group) is an Indian multinational corporation and an FMCG conglomerate with an international presence. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Noida, the group has diversified into mouth freshener, food and beverage, confectionery, agri, and luxury retail.




Leadership


The group is currently owned and managed by third-generation entrepreneurs Ravinder Kumar and Rajiv Kumar.




History






= Creation

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Dharampal Sugandhi, the founder of DS Group, established a small perfumery store in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, in 1929. He created products using essential oils such as agarbattis, flavoured supari, gulabjal, and tobacco.
By the late 1940s, Lala Dharampal Sugandhi's son, Satyapal Sugandhi, the founder of DS Group, joined the business. The company introduced its tobacco brand called BABA in India in 1958. The company went on to launch a range of other brands, including Tulsi.




= 1981–present

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The brand established new categories, such as the 'Rajnigandha' the Mouth Freshener and 'Pass Pass'. DS Group diversified in foods and beverages in 1987 with Catch Salt & Pepper sprinklers. The beverage range was launched with 'Catch Natural Spring Water' in 1999, followed by mixers, clear flavored water, soft drinks, and juice beverages. DS Group further added Rajnigandha Silver Pearls, Maze, Chingles, and Pass Pass Pulse to its confectionery vertical.
DS Group acquired properties in both the business and leisure segments in the hospitality industry. Additionally, DS Group has also invested in the agriculture sector, which includes an agroforestry division and hydroponics using greenhouses to cultivate crops. Since 2019, DS Group has been one of the main shareholders of Lalique Group SA, a group that creates and distributes luxury goods.
In 2023, DS Group collaborated with the luxury Swiss chocolate brand Läderach to introduce it to the Indian market for the first time. Furthermore, in the same year, the group acquired The Good Stuff Pvt Ltd., which owns the chocolate and confectionery brand LuvIt.




Presence


The corporate headquarters of DS Group are situated in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The DS Group Headquarters (DSHQ), located in the National Capital Region (NCR), contains the company's main office, a research and development center, and manufacturing facilities for producing candies, flavors, fragrances, as well as edible gold and silver decorations.
In 2022, the group's headquarters was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification under the US Green Building Council (USGBC). In the next year, the company attained net zero carbon status by achieving LEED Zero Carbon Certification of USGBC.




Corporate museum


DS Group Headquarters has a museum called "The Journey" that showcases its legacy and honors the founders. It is divided into five sections and offers an experiential museum experience.




CSR






= Water Conservation

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In 2018, the DS Group started the Water Economic Zone (WEZ) project in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The project aimed to manage natural resources such as water and soil. For the WEZ project, the DS Group received an award from Union Tribal Affairs Minister, Arjun Munda, in the category of Environment Sustainability at the 20th FICCI CSR Awards. In this project, approximately 11,000 hectares of land in the Alsigarh and Kurabad areas of Udaipur district in Rajasthan were modified. Over 900 structures for rainwater collection were erected by the coorperation. This allowed irrigation on 2,300 hectares of land.




= Education

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DS Group launched a project called Creativity Adda in partnership with Shikshantar Andolan; its stated goal was to promote skill-based education for students in an all-boys government-aided school (grades 6–12) in Darya Ganj, Old Delhi. This project was developed in collaboration with Commercial School and DS Group. The project has an "unschool" attend-daily from 2–5 p.m.




= SaluteTheFarmHER

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In 2023, DS Group launched the SaluteTheFarmHER campaign, a project aimed at highlighting the role of women in agriculture. The initiative was conceived by Grapes and officially launched on International Women's Day in March 2023.




Controversies






= Plastic ban violation

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In 2011, the Supreme Court of India issued a contempt notice to DS Group for violating its order against using plastic sachets to sell products. The company attempted to bypass the Supreme Court's ban on selling products in plastic pouches by falsely labeling them as "only for export", despite being sold domestically at a price of ₹6.




= Tax evasion

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In 2015, officials from the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence conducted searches at 25 locations of DS Group's companies across several states, based on gathered intelligence. The investigation revealed that fake invoices for declared goods, labeled as "sandalwood compound or oil", were issued to Messrs Dharampal Satyapal Limited through dummy factories in the Haridwar–Roorkee area, Kanpur, and Lucknow. Owners of these dummy supplier firms admitted to generating bills for DSL on a commission basis without manufacturing or obtaining clearance for declared goods. Allegedly, DS Group evaded taxes by claiming inadmissible Cenvat credit, totaling ₹90 crore (US$11 million).
In 2019, the company was involved in a ₹900 crore (US$110 million) scam, which revolved around the avoidance of value-added tax (VAT) on tobacco products. As per the state Criminal Investigation Department, the directors of Dharmpal Satyapal Limited and the Gujarat trade were implicated in importing gutka and other tobacco products into the state without proper documentation, selling them in the market, and thereby avoiding the payment of VAT.




= Sealing of Guwahati factory

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In 2022, the Mumbai Crime Branch closed down the company's Guwahati facility after discovering that the Panmasala produced by the company in Guwahati was discovered in the possession of a dealer in Solapur (Maharashtra), where the manufacturing, selling, and storage of Panmasala are prohibited. But, within a fortnight, the factory was de-sealed as per the Guwahati High Court order.




Litigations


In 2016, the Supreme Court imposed a fine of ₹4 crore (US$480,000) to Dharampal Satyapal Limited for breaching commitments and causing delays in resolving a 2009 tax dispute. DSL contested a ₹244 crore (US$29 million) tax demand related to Central Excise Duty, briefly applied to the Settlement Commission without reaching an agreement, faced a dismissal of its petition by the Delhi High Court, and sought relief from the Supreme Court in 2013, securing a stay order against the tax demand.




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Dharampal Satyapal Group
• Dharmapala (disambiguation)
• Hansjörg Wyss
• Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
• Mahatma Gandhi
• Swami Vivekananda
• C. Rajagopalachari
• Sri Aurobindo
• Annie Besant
• 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election