Chaudhary Group

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Bhuramull Chaudhary, a Marwari[1] businessman from the modern-day Shekhawati district in the Indian state of Rajasthan, was invited to Nepal at the behest of its erstwhile Rana rulers for business. He sold clothes to the royalty and high-end customers in Kathmandu going from door-to-door and later started his own store in Kathmandu.

Binod's father, Lunkaran Das Chaudhary, laid the foundations of the group. He imported consumer electronics and garments from Japan, South Korea, Europe, and India. Lunkaran started Nepal's first department store, Arun Emporium, in 1968. He exported jute to the US and Europe in the early-1960s when Nepal's trade with the outside world was limited to India.[2]

Wai Wai is an international brand of instant noodles produced initially in Nepal by Thai Preserved Food Factory Co. since 1972.[3][4] Chaudhary Group with technical assistance of the company introduced Wai Wai in Nepal in 1985.[5] The Chaudhary Group built four factories in Nepal and six factories in India for the manufacture and distribution of Wai Wai and other branded instant noodles. CG is expanding with new plants in Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Serbia, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. Along with other noodle brands of India, one segment of Xpress Noodles, a product of CG was banned in the Tamil Nadu state of India in 2015 for a period of three months citing high levels of lead in similar noodle brand known as Maggi.[6][7] The Assam government had also banned Mimi, another product from CG for one month under the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006.[8] Subsequently, concerned authorities declared the noodles safe as they proved to contain no lead and harmful materials.[9] Wai Wai claims 20 percent Indian market share.[10]

Valuable seafront land along the 700 metre stretch from Moti Daman Lighthouse to Jampore beach is claimed to be owned by adivasi fishing communities who have lived there for generations as well as by NRI Damanese predominantly living in Leicester, UK. In December 2018, local residents received official looking documents purportedly instructed by Praful Patel ordering the confiscation of their land and demolition of homes to make way for development.[11] In January 2019 Praful Patel hosted a hastily arranged meeting with British MP Keith Vaz but managed to allay his fears about the case.[12] However, by November the bulldozing went ahead and the Daman protests began. On 3 November 2019, Daman Collector Rakesh Minhas issued a Section 144 order banning peaceful assembly of four or more persons, slogan-shouting and the use of loudspeakers across the entire district and ordered the conversion of two High Schools into 'temporary jails'.[13] 70 protesters were held in these 'temporary jails' and another 8 arrests were made.[14] Few of the adivasi fisherfolk were rehoused whilst most languished traumatised and homeless on the streets near the rubble of their razed homes.[15] As of March 2021 the site is now billionaire Binod Chaudhary of CG Corp Global's The Fern Seaside Luxurious Tent Resort offering tourist accommodation for $80US/£57GBP/6000 rupees for night in a tent.[16]

Shelter built by Chaudhary Group in Madevsthan of Kavre District, approximately 60 km east of Kathmandu

The Chaudhary Foundation assisted in building 10,000 transitional shelters for survivors of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.[19] It also committed to build 100 schools for those damaged in the earthquake.[20] The foundation has handed over 2500 shelters and 40 school buildings. Due to government norms, the foundation is now moving away from transitional shelter to permanent housing and working on building a "model village".

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