New Delhi: Grasim Industries, which reportedly lobbied with the Centre to curb cheaper textile fibre imports that eventually fired up its business, has donated Rs 33 crore through electoral bonds. This puts it in the list of top 100 donors in the country.

Madhya Pradesh-based Grasim Industries is part of the Aditya Birla Group that has donated Rs 534 crore in total -- Rs 224 crore from Essel Mining and Industries Limited, Rs 135 crore by Utkal Alumina International Limited, Rs 35 crore through Ultratech Cement, Rs 105 crore by Birla Carbon, Rs 33 crore through Grasim Industries and Rs 2 crore through Birla Estate Pvt Ltd.

In August 2021, the Union government removed anti-dumping duty on Viscose Staple Fibre, a man-made, biodegradable fibre in textile manufacturing that has been Grasim’s forte for decades. The decision let foreign manufactures enter with cheaper products, hurting Grasim.

It came after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) issued an order stating that Grasim had abused its dominant position in the VSF market “by charging discriminatory prices to its customers, denying market access and imposing supplementary obligations upon its customers”. 

According to an investigation by Aggam Walia of The Indian Express, Grasim officials successfully lobbied with Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal to implement strict quality control measures in the sector.

The order detailing stricter quality control came out in December 2022, putting a choke hold on imports from China and Indonesia that had kept the mills of small- and medium-sized firms viable and running. And Grasim came back in the lead, comfortably.