Ironical as it may seem, India's largest cigarette company is helping the country's biggest life insurance firm sell its policies.

Tobacco giant ITC is extending the support of its electronic network or 'e-choupal' in the rural belts to market Life Insurance Corporation's policies.

ITC's e-choupal network, which it set up to source agricultural products, covers 10,000 villages in four Indian states, a huge rural market that the LIC hopes to tap now.

However, insurance policies are not the only commodity that ITC hopes to market through its e-choupal channel that spreads deep into Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, says a senior company official.

The success of its e-choupal that gave ITC business worth Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) last fiscal has prompted the company to throw open this strategic marketing/distribution channel to fast moving consumer goods companies, financial firms and the service sector.

A few years ago, ITC had planned an insurance company of its own in collaboration of Eagle Star, a firm owned by British American Tobacco. But once BAT sold off Eagle Star that plan fell through.

The deal with LIC is to be implemented by ITC associate Megatop Insurance.