Nagpur: The packaged Nagpur orange juice made at the Patanjali Group’s plant at Mihan is expected to hit the retail counters soon, founder of the group Baba Ramdev told TOI. The juice will be entirely sugar and preservative free, he said.Company sources added that the packets of juice having the tagline ‘Made From Nagpur Premium Orange’ are already out in Patanjali Group’s distribution network. In around a month, the one-litre packs would hit the retail counters. The company would begin with placing the packets at its Arogya Kendra (health centres) and Patanjali Mega stores, eventually sending it to other retail outlets also, said an official.Patanjali laid the stone for the project in the non-SEZ part of Mihan in 2015. The main plan was to process fruits, especially the orange grown in Vidarbha. The product has now been finalised and packs are out with the wholesale distributors. The Nagpur plant also looks forward to buying oranges in the coming season, a source said.Ramdev also said that Patanjali Group is upbeat on expanding its palm plantation throughout the country. Rather, it is the latest focus for the group, he said.The palm plantations will help the company produce palm oil, which is imported into the country. Large-scale palm plantations would help in reducing the import dependence as oil refining would be scaled up within the country. Patanjali Group, which has already taken over Ruchi Soya, eyes to leverage its plants for the operations, added a source.Ramdev was in the city on a quick trip in a private jet to meet Jain seer Samay Sagar Maharaj, who is also in Nagpur.“The visit was purely due to spiritual reasons. I am blessed to meet a personality like the Maharaj,” said Ramdev, who flew back after three to four hours of stay in Nagpur. He was hosted by Nagpur businessman Umesh Patni.
