Banday Impex Pvt. Ltd.

(BIPL) is a leading diversified group renowned for its commitment towards innovating premium quality products and services. We are a vibrant Company that provides consumers in J&K with products of global standards and is committed to long-term sustainable growth and quality. Headquartered in J&K (India), the Company insists on honesty, integrity and fairness in all aspects of its business. This has earned it the trust and respect and is acknowledged amongst Valley s 'Most Respected Companies' and amongst the 'Top Wealth Creators of J&K'. Constant Innovation, Stringent Quality and diversified products have made the BIPL Group a multi-crore brand since its launch. BIPL Group forayed into food products in 1997 with the internationally acclaimed brand DIAMOND for Medicinal Herb like Saffron. Subsequently another brand REHMAT Spices, Pulses and Cosmetics was launched. We are a dominant player in all the sectors in which it operates. The Group has maintained its market leadership over the years. We are the only units in the trade to be awarded the prestigious ISO 9001: 2000, 22000 Certification. The Group s remarkable growth and diversification has been achieved on account of emphasis on quality at all levels.

Recent Interview
Ashiq Banday in an interview talks to Rabia Noor, GK Business under 'Business Leaders of Kashmir'
Tell us about the background of your company?
The Banday Impex Private Limited is involved in diverse business activities. Besides cultivating and trading of saffron, building of roads and flyovers in the state, the company has forayed in the business of branded spices and pulses in the year 2003. Our consumers are enjoying the BIPL products under the brand name REHMAT from last three years. The brand REHMAT has within a very short span of time became a household name in Kashmir. The innovation and commitment to bring the best in the categories of spices has flourished our business. The company has achieved distinction of having latest ISO ranking that makes every citizen of Kashmir to feel proud of it. Since 2003, people have come to know that BIPL as a quality conscious company and they can rely on for great tasting, high quality spices manufactured under the brand name REHMAT. Due to this virtue the company has taken significant market share of spices in the valley of Kashmir.

Did you inherit your business or start of your own?

I have started it myself. I always wanted to do business. I would study a lot of books to choose a line of trade and finally I chose this sector (spice) because it is booming in India. I set up the Rehmat Foods Division in 2003. Besides spices, what other commodities you deal in? Apart from the spices, we do deal in pulses, walnuts and cosmetics. Now we are shortly

coming up with tea brands and many food items. In the coming two or three months we are going to expand our business activities to Northern India. For that we have already got some people from other companies.

Do you get the ingredients of spices from Kashmir or import them from outside?
We import them from Tamil Nadu, Bangalore, Rajasthan and many other parts of India. Very less quantity we get from Kashmir. In fact we get only chili from here.

Tell us about the quality standard of your products?

We have our own laboratory here. We have received the ISO 22,000 certification recently, which is the latest standard in spice and foods. We send our samples to AG Mark, which is the National Food Standard of India. They have their own set of laboratories. We also do the third party testing in Delhi through Sri Ram laboratories.

Tell us about your customer base?

We are exporting our products to all over India, including Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Pune, Bangalore and Delhi. Our customers include some giants like Manikchand, Dabur, Zandu, Emami, etc. Any plans to export abroad? We have yet to export our products to abroad because we are in the infancy stage. We are trying to cover entire Indian markets first, then after that we would expand our operations outside India. Let me tell you that we have been encouraged by certain inquiries from individuals and business organizations from Saudi Arabia and Europe. Let me add that last year our export turnover was worth Rs 21 crore and this year we are expecting Rs 36 crore.

What makes Rehmat different from others?

Ours is a quality product. It is good that market is growing. But we are the only company in India, which has got ISO 22,000 by AQSR (American Quality System Registrar), and Coke. We have received more than five awards this year. We have received quality marks like ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and HASCP. The most recent award we received was the first prize for the quality spices, foods and cosmetics at the 53rd industrial and handicraft exhibition-2007.

How big is the family of Rehmat?

Over three hundred people are engaged with our company. Most of them are Kashmiris. They get handsome salaries, which can be anywhere between Rs 7000 to Rs 1 lakh. There is a Kashmiri girl, who is drawing more than Rs 70,000 salary per month. Then, a Kashmiri boy is joining in July, who will be getting more than Rs 2 lakh per month.

What are your other areas of activities?

Right now I am holding only Rehmat Spices. I am heading this division. I am one of the proprietors of the company. We are also doing construction business in Kashmir. We are constructing eight bridges here and some in Jammu as well. And very shortly we are going to construct a flyover at Hyderpora. And presently we are also working on KulgamQazigund road that is a four-way road. More than 3000 people are engaged in that venture.

Do you believe in corporate social responsibility?

Rehmat is trying to help the poor people who reside near the factory. I would like to provide more and more employment to them and at the same time to the people of other parts of Kashmir. That is the main aim of the company.

Your other interests?

Nothing other than business, business and business. We are trying to be the professionals in this division. We always ask the young people to come up and be a part of our company.

What are the strengths of your company?

We firmly believe in continually revitalizing company brands and products, demanding new approaches to proven practices, maintaining speed and agility through strong leadership, making sure employees are empowered to achieve and not handicapped by official procedure. And, last but not the least using an exciting new product to overhaul company culture. What are some of the attributes one must have to handle a business? Enterprise and risk-taking are important attributes in business. Besides, one should be committed and hardworking to achieve the success in business.

What are your dreams?

I have a dream to build a 4-lane road leading to Muzaffarabad from Srinagar to establish trade link which I believe will generate employment. Whom would you give credit for your success at a very young age? It is my parents. They have always been supportive to me.