Telangana bags Johnson and Johnson, Procter & Gamble projects

J&J and P&G. The alphabets held a whole new meaning for the Telangana government on Thursday as the global multinational companies with the cherished letters translating their plans into total projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore.

Johnson and Johnson, the multinational medical devices, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods manufacturer, held its ground breaking ceremony for a Rs 400 crore project and P&G (Procter & Gamble), the consumer goods biggie, began commercial production at its new Rs 600 crore facility.

Both the units are located next to each other in Penjerla village in the Kothur mandal of Mahbubnagar district of Telangana, near Hyderabad.

Speaking to Business Today and giving details of the investments by the two MNCs, Pradeep Chandra, special chief secretary (industries), government of Telangana, said: "J&J is investing about Rs 400 crore in the first phase (to be completed by 2016).... It is for their largest plant in India to make baby care and skin care products and based on the extent of land they have acquired we believe that they are looking at much larger expansion here."

The foundation stone for the J&J facility was laid by Telangana chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao with J&J represented by Vikas Srivastava, the managing director of J&J Consumer (India).

The company has acquired 47 acre and therefore with enough room to expand further. Next door is the P&G facility, which went on stream on Thursday with the commencement of its operations in a project made with a total investment of around Rs 600 crore ($100 million), according to Pradeep Chandra.

This plant, he says, "is one of the largest facilties of the company in India and is to make their entire line of detergents and has been set up in a little over a year."