2. ‘India is my country.’ Each time a citizen of India utters this statement it should be with a great
amount of pride and joy. Because we come from a land rich in culture and heritage that seeps out
from every corner of the country. And this culture and heritage is what makes India the crown jewel
in the crown called the world.
Be it the walnut wood craft of Kashmir or the leather handicrafts from Kanpur or the Madhubani
paintings of Orissa and Bihar or the various elegant dance forms such as Yakshagna from Andhra
Pradesh, Tamasha from Maharashtra, Jayantiya from Maghalaya; each handicraft is unique with a
piece of tradition and history woven into its creation giving an end product that holds in it a piece of
the heart of India itself.
But today in the race towards development, technology and the want to become the next super-
power, it is this art and its encompassing history the Maharajas of India once so proudly showcased,
has taken a hit. With development and mass manufacturing coming into play these art forms and
handicrafts are slowly fading into darkness.
And as India walks down the path to financial and social growth, it is for us to question at what cost
are we willing to move forward. Should the culture imbibed
in the rich amalgamation of arts and crafts pay the price of development
or should we, as pioneers of this great country, do all it takes to keep the
heritage of India alive?
•According to data available in 2005, the unorganised sector
accounted for 395 million persons or 86 per cent of the work
force.
•Most of these workers (253 million) were engaged in
agriculture and who are mainly self-employed. Together with
the 29 million in unorganised employment in the formal
sector, there were 422.6 million persons in the unorganised
economy (sector plus employment) who comprise 92.4 per
cent of the work force.
•The labour sector of the Indian economy consists of roughly
487 million workers, the second largest after China. Of these
over 94 percent work in unincorporated, unorganised
enterprises ranging from pushcart vendors to home-based
diamond and gem polishing operations to local small-scale
informal artisans.
3. There are a hundred problems
plaguing India, 14 of which have
been articulated. We, the
members of Team Impromptu
believe that everyone should live
a life doing what they are
passionate about. Because it is
only passion that spews skills.
What is lacking today is the
presence of equal opportunities
for people to showcase and make
use of their skills positively. And
this is the problem that we as a
team have addressed with special
focus on the glass handicrafts
industry in Firozabad
The path followed by us
Problem
Identification
Primary
Research
Root Cause
Analysis
Solution
Secondary
Research
ConsPros
Future Project
4. •Known for the intricate glass bangles and bead work special to
Firozabad, this town has always been known as the ‘Glass Capital’ of
India. Today Firozabad, the glass city of India, has 75% of its population
involved in glass industry directly or indirectly. Firozabad accounts for
70% of the total glass produced by the small scale sector in India
generating employment to more than 2 lakh informal sector workers.
•While the large-scale glass manufacturing industry is well set-up here,
Firozabad is more well known for the glass handicrafts it produces. Since
1989, Firozabad has produced artistic glassware in different colours and
shades used in chandeliers and other items such as glass art ware, glass
hardware and glass domestic ware. About 400 glass industries are
registered in Firozabad, making different types of glass products. Half of
the production of these units is exported.
•Firozabad is more importantly known as the ‘Bead Capital’ of the world.
Known for the unique colours and patterns specific to beads made here,
beads are exported the world over. However, in the past couple of years
the demand for glass artworks and beads from Firozabad has been
dropping at a steady and alarming rate.
•To protect the art form from dying out, the Government of India has
established the Centre for the Development of Glass Industry (CDGI) in
1992 in collaboration with UNDP, UNIDO & Govt of UP at Firozabad.
CDGI focuses on providing Developmental and Technological Support
services to the small scale industries and also runs short term ISO
Certified training programs that are approved by the Ministry of MSME,
Government of India.
•However, outside Firozabad CDGI or its work is hardly known whereas
the demand for customised and unique glass artefacts is high across the
world. This lack of awareness about the work done by the Government
through CDGI is resulting in the art not getting its due credit and
recognition
•The lack of awareness and therefore the declining interest in the glass
craft is decelerating the growth curve of the Glass Artefacts Industry.
•The major glass producing countries in the world are
Germany, USA, UK, China and Japan. The major
importing countries are USA, Germany, Japan,
France, Italy and Australia. The main consuming
regions are Europe, China and North America, that
together account for 74 per cent of global demand
for glass.
•The total glass industry was worth INR 180 billion in
2010. The global glass industry generates about $75
billion in annual revenue. The Indian glass industry is
pegged at $2.7 billion. Glass consumption growth is
expected in construction (9%), automotive (19%),
consumer goods (10%-12%) and pharmaceuticals
(12%-15%) sectors. The per capita glass consumption
in India for container glass is 1.2 kg, compared with
8-9 kg in developed countries and 30-35 kg in the US.
•The industry is growing at around 8% per annum.
Consumption per capita of glass in India is only about
0.8 kg compared to 3.5 kg in China, 5.2 kg in
Thailand, 12 kg in Malaysia and 2.5 kg in Indonesia.
One of the advantage that the glass industry in India
enjoys is that the cost of labor is relatively lower than
its western counterparts, making it competitive in the
international arena.
Problem
Identification Secondary
Data
Research
5. There are many issues plaguing the declining glass artworks
business in Firozabad. Out of the many, some major issues occur
due to the following limitations:
•Low availability of uninterrupted power supply at lower rate
•Lack of enhancing investment limits in Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises
•Lack of good loan schemes for self employment for educated
unemployed youths
•Low presence of attractive interest subsidies for micro enterprises
to attract more entrepreneurs to start new ventures
•The biggest threat comes in the form of China, whose strategy of
mass production of glass ware at relatively low costs is eating into
the demand market for glass products from India. In China, the
glass industry gets soda ash for making glass at very subsidized
rates, but the actual subsidy is never declared. Since 2003,
glass production in China has more than doubled.
•Concurrently, production capacity in China has doubled since
2003 and increased more than three-fold since 2000.
•In 2008, it contributed more than 31 percent of global
glass production. China’s glass and glass-products industry
received at least $30.3 billion in subsidies from 2004 to 2008,
and China's flat glass sector received approximately
$4.8 billion during that same period.
According to data and facts from an industry expert (name disclosed
due to privacy issues), the following are a few issues pertaining to the
glass industry in Firozabad:
•95% of glass exports from India are from Firozabad
•Child labor in the glass industry is rampant in Firozabad
•Some major issues affecting the glass industry in Firozabad especially
the artisans is the lack of sufficient micro-financing and
entrepreneurial skills
•Every work of glass art made by the artisans in Firozabad are unique in
design, pattern and structure. Made by hand, no two pieces of glass
artwork is exactly identical. Also, artisans are so skilled they are
capable of producing customized glass artwork as per one’s
instructions
•The approximate cost of setting up an efficient glass furnace for
producing glass artworks is 1 lakh
•However, the development of technology and mass manufacturing in
China has eaten into the demand market of glass produced in India
•Morano, in Italy too has played a hand in taking a cut out of the slice
of the demand for glass
Root Cause
Analysis
Primary
Research
6. Phase 1
• CDGI should implement glass work artisans in their existing facility. From giving them opportunities to hone their
glasswork making skills to providing them entrepreneurial skills, CGDI should weave the artisans into their facility
• Creation of a glass museum by CGDI; host glassworks-making workshops
• Integration of fading dance forms with a choreographed glass show
Phase 2
• Creation of a brand that fuses dance and other arts- and handicrafts-making forms into a performance-based
show that will be taken to a national and global stage
• Making use of media, especially social platforms and social media to promote this brand globally
Phase 3
• Adaption the above model for other dying art forms such as bamboo art of the North East; wooden handicrafts
from Bastak, Madhya Pradesh and perfume making in Kannoj
Solution
10. •Steps involved – setting up of the necessary infrastructure at
CDGI (museum/portable furnaces/glass blowers etc); logistics
(electricity, water, transportation); event production (stage set-
up, banners, branding etc); Artist procurement & training;
Human resource Support to orchestrate the event, ticketing of
the shows, promotional activities for the show, sponsorships &
branding partnerships and procuring permissions from the
respective government bodies
•Associating with different artists at different locations &
integrating them into brand ‘Asmita’
•Costs Involved: artist cost, production cost, promotional cost,
transportation & logistics cost
•Revenue sources: ticketing of shows, sale of artefacts,
workshop fee, revenue from the digital medium (own YouTube
channel) & sponsorships
•The profits made through this exercise can be ploughed back
as well as used to make the artisans self-reliant and also
enhance their standard of living
The Implementation
•Growth of tourism –
national & international
•Employment
opportunities – both
permanent & temporary
for artisans & other
informal sector workers
•Development of ancillary
industries like packaging &
transportation,
•Promotion of art forms
from different parts of
India
•Logistical hurdles
(orchestration of event,
hospitality etc )
•Legal issues like
permissions &
patent/copyright issues
•Competition from the
formal sector (big players)
operating in this industry
•Financial issues
11. • Success of this model will bring the informal sector workers into the
formal sector
• One of the biggest boost from this exercise is that there will be financial
inclusion of these informal sector workers and hence will open up
opportunities for them to be self-reliant (eg. Glass entrepreneurs)
• Through this the exports will increase significantly and this in turn would
help in currency appreciation and therefore more income for the
informal sector
• These training institutes can help in enhancing the skills set of the
artisans and also impart the necessary business knowledge to become
self reliant
• There will be overall development of the informal sector workers
through better incomes, better standard of living, increased literacy and
community development
The Path to Sustainability for the Informal Sector
