ITC Limited has officially completed the integration of Century Pulp and Paper into its Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division (ITC-PSPD), pushing the company’s total paper and paperboard capacity up by more than 50% to approximately 1.5 million metric tonnes. The completion, announced on August 3, 2026, gives ITC its first major manufacturing footprint in northern India for this business and expands its access to key raw materials and customers in the region.
Century Pulp and Paper was established in 1984 in Uttarakhand with an installed capacity of roughly 480,000 metric tonnes per annum, and ITC first agreed to acquire the unit from the Aditya Birla Group’s BK Birla side in April 2025. ITC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri described the completed acquisition as a “defining milestone” for ITC-PSPD, which now becomes India’s largest integrated paperboards and paper business by capacity.
Why Did ITC Acquire Century Pulp and Paper?
ITC’s paperboards division has built its reputation on packaging board, specialty papers and value-added paperboard (VAP) products used across FMCG, pharmaceutical and cigarette packaging. Acquiring Century Pulp and Paper gives ITC-PSPD a strategically located production base in northern India, reducing its dependence on southern and eastern mills and cutting logistics costs for customers based in the north. The deal also expands ITC’s access to wood and pulp raw material sourcing in the Uttarakhand belt at a time when domestic wood prices have stayed elevated and import competition has squeezed margins across the paper sector. With capacity now near 1.5 million metric tonnes, ITC-PSPD strengthens its position against rivals such as JK Paper, West Coast Paper Mills and Emami Paper Mills, all of which have themselves expanded capacity over the past year.
What Does This Mean for India’s Paper and Packaging Industry?
The completion of the Century Pulp deal comes as the Indian paper industry navigates a mix of pressures: elevated wood costs, competitively priced imports and a government-imposed Minimum Import Price (MIP) of Rs 67,220 per metric tonne on virgin multi-layer paperboard imports that runs until March 31, 2026. Larger, better-integrated players like ITC-PSPD are better placed to absorb these cost pressures than smaller regional mills, and the deal is likely to accelerate consolidation in India’s paperboard segment. It also signals confidence in long-term demand for sustainable, fibre-based packaging as brands shift away from single-use plastics under India’s tightened Extended Producer Responsibility rules.
Market Reaction and Industry Response
ITC shares have traded in a relatively tight band following the announcement, with the paperboards business representing one part of the diversified conglomerate’s broader FMCG, hotels and cigarettes portfolio. Within the paper trade press, the deal has been described as a strategic leap that gives ITC-PSPD a genuine pan-India manufacturing spread for the first time. Competing paper stocks, including JK Paper, Emami Paper Mills and West Coast Paper Mills, have separately rallied in recent sessions on strong quarterly results and import-price-linked pricing power, underscoring an industry-wide environment of consolidation and margin recovery even as individual companies pursue different growth strategies.
What Happens Next?
ITC-PSPD is expected to spend the coming quarters integrating Century Pulp and Paper’s operations, including aligning production planning, sourcing and sales channels with its existing mills. Analysts will watch ITC’s upcoming quarterly results for early signs of synergy benefits and utilisation rates at the newly acquired Uttarakhand facility. The broader industry will also be watching whether the Minimum Import Price on paperboard imports is extended beyond its March 2026 deadline, a decision that will materially affect pricing power for ITC-PSPD and its rivals through the rest of the fiscal year. Investors and paper traders are also expected to track how quickly ITC-PSPD ramps up utilisation at the Uttarakhand facility and whether the company announces any further debottlenecking or brownfield expansion at its existing paperboard mills to complement the newly acquired capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Century Pulp and Paper’s capacity, and where is it located?
Century Pulp and Paper was set up in 1984 in Uttarakhand with an installed capacity of about 480,000 metric tonnes per annum, giving ITC-PSPD a new manufacturing base in northern India.
How much has ITC’s total paper capacity grown after this acquisition?
ITC’s total paper and paperboard capacity has grown by more than 50% following the Century Pulp and Paper integration, taking it to approximately 1.5 million metric tonnes.
Why is this acquisition significant for ITC-PSPD?
The deal makes ITC-PSPD India’s largest integrated paperboards and paper business by capacity, gives it a first major presence in northern India, and expands its access to raw materials and customers in that region.
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