India Inc revives WFH, accelerates EV fleets as HUL, Marico, Dabur answer Modi's austerity call

FMCG majors are cutting travel, scaling rail logistics 3x and deploying 40-50 EVs at Dabur to conserve fuel and trim costs. HUL flags 97% renewable energy use; RPG Group claims 30,000 litres of petrol saved across 500 employees. The shift signals a structural reset in supply-chain economics for consumer-goods players.

— Filed Fri, 15 May, 2026, 08:14 IST · Source Times of India · Business · Updated

Indian consumer giants HUL, Marico, Dabur and others are reviving work-from-home, curbing travel and accelerating EV/rail logistics in response to PM Modi's austerity call, framing the shift as fuel conservation and supply-chain sustainability.

Why this matters

HUL is layering operational austerity onto a broader transformation: a 12,000+ creator influencer army absorbing 50% of Unilever ad spend, alongside boardroom pressure driving faster CEO turnarounds across FMCG.

Retail-company signals steady at 269 in last 90 days, indicating sustained corporate restructuring activity.