Railways grants naming rights for platforms at New Delhi station to FMCG firm BL Agro

Some platforms of New Delhi Railway Station will be branded as Bail Kolhu and Nourish, as the Railways has granted naming rights to Uttar Pradesh-based FMCG company BL Agro.The Railways said that the contract has been awarded for naming rights of NDLS platforms under the New, Innovative Non-Fare Revenue Ideas Scheme to Hybrid Media.

Some platforms of New Delhi Railway Station will be branded as 'Bail Kolhu' and 'Nourish', as the Railways has granted naming rights to Uttar Pradesh-based FMCG company BL Agro.

The Railways said that the contract has been awarded for naming rights of NDLS platforms under the New, Innovative Non-Fare Revenue Ideas Scheme to Hybrid Media. Hybrid Media has further tied up with BL Agro, officials said.

With this deal, BL Agro has become the first such company to be granted naming rights to platforms -- 14, 15 and 16 in this case. The tenure of the rights with BL Agro is for one year initially, starting this October, said a statement issued by the company on Wednesday.

This is the first time that such a tie-up with private players has been made, the officials said.

With this agreement, platforms 14 and 15 of New Delhi Railway Station will be branded as ‘Nourish Platform 14 and 15’ and platform 16, the one on the Ajmeri Gate side of the station, will be branded as ‘Bail Kolhu Platform 16’.

The deal gives BL Agro naming rights in the platform area, allowing panels, billboards, and vinyl wrapping to sport Bail Kolhu’s celebrity endorsers Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Nourish’s brand ambassador Shilpa Shetty, the statement said.

''It is an appreciable initiative taken by Indian Railways, and I congratulate the ministry for such progressive vision. It indeed is a landmark moment for us and we are ecstatic to be spearheading it for New Delhi Railway Station,'' said Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Chairman, BL Agro.

Leads Brand Connect, a creative and advertising agency, has conceptualized, created and executed the naming rights of all three platforms in its entirety for BL Agro. This encompasses beautifying the platforms, creating pink cubicles for women, alongside creating experience zone for the brands, the statement said, adding that it will also take care of the upkeep and maintenance of the branded infrastructure.

Based in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, BL Agro Industries Ltd has one of the largest distribution networks amongst all branded edible oil and food product players in India, with over 58,000 retailers.