Pledge to make India a Corruption Free Country

New Delhi, August 25, 2009: Tata Tea today launched the new Jaago Re campaign – ‘Aaj Se Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru’. The new campaign takes up yet another relevant social issue – Corruption - and urges the citizens of the country to awaken and fight against it. The campaign aims at not just creating awareness about corruption but communicating to the people that ‘You should be the change you seek’.

Speaking about the campaign, Ms. Sangeeta Talwar, Executive Director, Tata Tea Limited, said, “As the world recovers from one of the worst financial crisis, there will emerge a new world economic order, in which India will play a significant role. ‘The future is India’ - one of the fastest growing democracies in the world. To spur this growth and development, the Government has announced several programs in the area of infrastructure building, rural employment, rural health, urban development, basic utilities etc. However one of the single largest deterrents of the speed at which public and private investment and sectorial and social reforms can impact the life of ‘Aam Admi’ is corruption.”

“Corruption is a malaise that is endemic to our everyday life. It is the largest tax on India’s future. Corruption extracts a tremendous cost on entrepreneurial activity, economic opportunity and prosperity. If we are to create an open access society, leverage India’s diversity, its demographic dividend, its social and intellectual capital, ameliorate poverty and work towards the progress of the masses, we must do something quick and drastic to remove corruption,” she added.

Keeping the need to address the problem of corruption in mind the Jaago Re campaign has been recrafted to create widespread awareness on the issue of corruption. Aaj Se Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru transcends well beyond just creating an awareness and is being presented as a platform where every Indian citizen can be ‘the change he wants to see’ by taking a pledge not to aid and abet corruption. It is a call to action! The idea of the awakening is that in every situation of corruption the greater onus lies on ‘Jo Khilata Hai’ the person giving the bribe rather than the one taking it.

The Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru campaign will be a 3600 integrated marketing campaign which will connect equally with consumers across the retail network of Tata Tea, as also through online and mobile touch points. A myriad on the ground initiatives will take the message closer to people and contribute to the health of the Nation. Further to this, Tata Tea will also come out with ‘Jaago Re Corruption Index’. This will aim to gauge the perception of the people on corruption and quantify it. Tata Tea will also promote December 9, which is internationally celebrated as ‘Anti-Corruption Day’, with an objective to make it into a national activity.

The last campaign urged the youth to take part in the electoral process of the country by exercising their franchise. This year’s theme, Corruption, takes up another socially relevant issue that not only impacts each one of us but also impedes the growth of the country and undermines its image globally.

About Tata Tea Limited

Tata Tea is a leading player in the global beverages market with significant presence in over 40 countries. The company has steadily transformed itself from being a plantation business to emerge as a key player in the branded segment. Tata Tea’s operations spans the entire value-chain in tea, including research and development, tea cultivation, manufacture of black and instant tea, blending, packaging, branding, marketing, sales and distribution.

About Jaago Re

Jaago Re campaign was initiated in the year 2007. The objective of this campaign was to transform tea from a medium of mere physical and mental rejuvenation to a medium of social awakening. In 2008, Jaago Re One Billion Votes campaign was conceived as an extension to the Jaago Re campaign that focused on awakening the youth to the power that lies in their hands, the power to influence, the power to choose, the power to vote. Jaago Re! One Billion Votes was a non-partisan campaign to facilitate informed civic participation amongst youth. It attempted to simplify the voter registration process through www.jaagore.com and enabling youth to be the change agents.

For further information, please contact

Shivani Sharma / Sanya Narula
Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
9871741891/ 9910258178
ssharma@vccpl.com; snarula@vccpl.com