‘PM’s Nari Shakti’ project: Helping Agarbatti Industry to work positively towards the upliftment women employees

By  Arjun Ranga, 

The rapidly expanding Indian agarbatti sector is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.1 percent between 2021 and 2026. The consumption of agarbatti has transcended traditional, ritualistic usages and beliefs to modern and western people as well due to their use not only for spiritual purposes or pujas, but also in wellness and meditation. This has automatically resulted in a massive demand for incense sticks worldwide. With exports crossing over INR 900 crores in the previous financial year and demands reaching an all-time-high, the Indian agarbatti industry is flourishing like never before. Apart from placing India on the global map as one of the top agarbatti producers, our industry has also been instrumental in generating employment and easing poverty in many rural households all over India. It has helped the underprivileged and marginalised sections of the society earn their livelihood, as well as financially empowered thousands of women through employment.

The incense sticks industry is labour-intensive, in the sense that each stick is handcrafted. The association has capitalised on this factor to empower as many rural women as possible. The industry with the help All India Agarbathi Manufacturers’ Association trains women to become agarbatti makers and traders. As a result, they earn fair wages by making agarbatti from their home and achieve financial independence and dignified lives while benefiting their families.  

In addition to creating a regular source of income for rural women, the agarbatti industry is helping to strengthen their capability by providing free training in various agarbatti-making skills.

Since the industry has a sizable rural workforce where womenfolk are prominent, the association has voluntarily coordinated with the member companies and the government to get them vaccinated during the peak of Covid pandemic. There have been frequent field visits by doctors to these micro and small units to keep a regular check. The association and all the member entities are making sure that the health, as well as the work of the employees, are not affected.

This year’s budget has also been encouraged to put together a policy for the integrated development of unprivileged women and children, through the launch of three schemes of the ‘Nari Shakti’ project. According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, women and children constitute two-thirds of India’s population as per the 2011 census. Being an industry highly participated by rural women who are in need of such incentives for improving their working and living conditions, this scheme comes as a great fillip for the upliftment of underprivileged women in the country. 

So far, more than 3,00,000 women from rural regions have been directly engaged in production either through micro-entrepreneurship or in manufacturing enterprises, accounting for over 80% of the total workforce. Even Charitable Trusts have been created to maintain the welfare of these workers.   

Given the fact that the agarbathi consumption in India is currently around 1790 MT per day compared to the output of only 760 MT, there is still a significant demand-supply mismatch. Hence, the entire industry seeks to envisions the prospect of employing women in larger numbers in the growing Indian agarbatti industry.

(The author is President of All India Agarbatti Manufacturers Association (AIAMA). Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the FinancialExpress.com.)