VRL Logistics Limited (formerly ''Vijayanand Roadlines Ltd.''), commonly known as the VRL Group, is an Indian

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** ...

headquartered in

Hubballi Hubli, officially known as Hubballi, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad distr ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

with operations in around 23 states and 4 union territories in the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

. Business operations of ''VRL Group'' include road transportation,

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

, publishing etc. ''VRL Group'' is one of the large logistics and transport companies in India (incl.4360 vehicles, comprising 419 tourist buses and 3941 transport

goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not ...

vehicles). Limca Book of Records, mentioned it as the single largest fleet owner of commercial vehicles in the country's

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

. ''VRL's''

Vijayavani ''Vijayavani'' (Kannada: ವಿಜಯವಾಣಿ) is a Kannada-language newspaper distributed in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is published by VRL Group owned by logistics tycoon Vijay Sankeshwar. Having launched on 1 April 2012, Vijaya ...

is credited with having the largest newspaper circulation in Karnataka.

History

''VRL Group'' was founded by

Vijay Sankeshwar Vijay Sankeshwar is an Indian businessman from Dharwad, Karnataka. He along with Anand Sankeshwar (managing director) is the chairman of India's largest logistics firm VRL Group. He is also known for being the owner of the largest fleet of comm ...

in 1976 at Gadag, Karnataka, India. His

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

had a publication house, which later became a part of ''VRL Group''.

Headquarters and offices

''VRL'' is headquartered in

and has 931 branches, 40 hubs and transport yards across the

. The headquarters has effluent treatment plant ( capacity:175 thousand liters),

rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...

plant, petrol bunk (allotted by Indian Oil Corporation), and a garage service complex, where ''VRL’s''

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

s passes through in the fleet, once in every two weeks.

Services

Cargo and Courier

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...

of ''VRL Group'', ''VRL General

Cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tra ...

'' started its business service as transportation between Hubballi and Gadag, and later has spread across

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and

Belagavi Belgaum ( ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...

. It has extended into courier services and express cargo, which are now operative in 23 states, handling over 216 million cargos/year, being one of the large networks in the

. Its courier services are operative for parcels ranging from small to large

size Size in general is the magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to linear dimensions ( length, width, height, diameter, perimeter), area, or volume. Size can also be me ...

Travel

''VRL's'' public tour business is operated by its division ''Vijayanand Travels''. With having more than 80 branches, and operated by 1000+ agents, it is the largest in tour business services in Karnataka and

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

. It owns 1550 buses (incl. 742 Volvo buses of 9400 XL and 9400PX multi-axle models), covering six states, moving across 350 routes in the

Aviation logistics

''VRL Logistics Ltd.'' in 2008, started working in Indian Air Chartering Industry, operating under the Indian Air Operator permit (for passenger charter). In the first phase of its business, it owned a Beechcraft Premier I, an

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...

, manufactured by Hawker Beechcraft Inc,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, while in 2013 it purchased another. It offers Jet aircraft charters to sectors like corporate,

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Lei ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, special missions, event management, advertisement agencies and for flights ( VIP category).

Media

''VRL Group's'' flagship entity, ''

'' was started on 1 April 2011, which is now the largest circulated

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

in Karnataka. ''VRL Group's'' subsidiary company ''VRL Media Ltd.'',

prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserved ...

''Vijayavani'' and is published in 9 cities of the state. ''Vijayavani’s''

lead editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of its editorial division is Chennegowder and Subhash hoogar. Karnataka's second largest circulated newspaper ''

Vijaya Karnataka ''Vijaya Karnataka'' is a Kannada newspaper published from a number of cities in Karnataka. The newspaper is published from Bengaluru, Hubballi, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Kalaburagi, Gangavathi, Belagavi, Davanagere, Hassan, Chitradurga. It wa ...

'', was started by

(of ''VRL Group'') in October 2000, and was sold to the Times group on 16 June 2006. In April 2017, ''VRL Media Ltd.'' started Digvijaya News 24x7, a Kannada

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

news channel News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or tele ...

References

External links

Official website of VRL Group
{{Logistics companies of India Express mail Logistics companies of India Indian companies established in 1976 Conglomerate companies established in 1976 1976 establishments in Karnataka Companies based in Karnataka Indian brands Airlines established in 2008 Low-cost carriers Indian trucking industry Cargo airlines of India Telecommunications companies of India Transport companies established in 1976 VRL Group Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange