Mumbai, July 15: FMCG major Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) and tobacco major ITC are in discussions for joint intiatives on water harnessing and conservation to ensure its better management both for industrial and agricultural purposes. "We had a preliminary discussion, but a specific model is yet to be worked out," HLL chairman M S Banga told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference on Monday.

ITC was interested in this idea as use of irrigated water at farmer's level was critical to us, the company chairman Y C Deveshwar said adding "nothing has been finalised yet".
ITC with substantial interest in tobacco and food processing, has recently launched e-choupals to provide information on markets, prices, weather and improvement in farm practices.
Harnessing and conservation of resources is a national priority and water is one of the most wasted resources, Banga said. Bureau Report