FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR ESTABLISHING

AGARBATTI MANUFACTURING UNITS IN

NORTH-EAST INDIA
CBTC- AND
BASIX DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE
MARKETING STRATEGY FOR CBTC-
BASIX BRAND OF AGARBATTI

Prepared By: Bedanga Bordoloi & Etali Sarmah

                                                            
 
 

Project Report

ON

FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR ESTABLISHING AGARBATTI MANUFACTURING UNITS IN

NORTH-EAST INDIA

AND

DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE MARKETING STRATEGY FOR CBTC- BASIX

BRAND OF AGARBATTI

FOR

Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC), Guwahati

&

BASIX, Hyderabad

By
Mr. Bedanga Bordoloi & Ms Etali Sarmah

Post Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management

National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad

2 
 
                                                            
 
 

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr Bedanga Bordoloi and Ms Etali Sarmah, bonafide students of Post
Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management (2007-2009 batch), MANAGE,
Hyderabad worked as summer trainees in our organization from the period (May 30-June 30,
2008). They have successfully completed their project titled “Feasibility Study for
establishing Agarbatti manufacturing units in North-east India and developing a
comprehensive marketing strategy for CBTC- Basix brand of Agarbatti” under the guidance
of the authorities of our organization.

We wish them all success in future.

(Vijay Mahajan)
(Kamesh Salam)
Managing Director
Director
BASIX, Hyderabad
CBTC, Guwahati

3 
 
                                                            
 
 

DECLARATION

This is to declare that, we, the student of Post Graduate Programme in Agri- Business
Management (2007-2009 batch), MANAGE, Hyderabad, have given original and authentic
data, information and maintained full confidentiality to the best of our knowledge in the
project report titled “Feasibility Study for establishing Agarbatti manufacturing units in
North-east India and developing a comprehensive marketing strategy for CBTC- Basix brand
of Agarbatti” and that, no part of this information has been used for any other assignment but
for the fulfillment of the requirements towards the completion of the said project.

Mr. Bedanga Bordoloi & Ms Etali Sarmah

PGPABM 2007-09

MANAGE, Hyderabad.

4 
 
                                                            
 
 

Acknowledgement

We owe a great deal to MANAGE for laying the foundation for our study in the field of
Agri-business management. We would also like to express our earnest gratitude and thanks to
Mr Kamesh Salam, Director, CBTC, Guwahati for his encouragement and support. We are
thankful to Mr Vijay Mahajan, MD, BASIX, and Hyderabad for giving us the opportunity to
work with BASIX. We are also thankful to Mr Nipan Deka, General Manager, CBTC,
Guwahati for his support and kind blessings.

Our experience from this project has certainly broadened our knowledge arena by
introducing us to the practical problems that one faces in the field as the primary link
between an organization and its clients. It has also helped us to learn how to tackle problems
and also how to deal with different people, from different walks of life.
We earnestly thank M.D Salem Reza for his support, guidance and suggestions made at
different stages of the project which have helped us in successfully completing this project.

We are also thankful to Mr. P.D Rai and Mr. Pankaj Borah for their guidelines and
suggestions for developing a framework for this project.

We would also like to thank all the respondents, for the help they provided us.

Regards,

Mr. Bedanga Bordoloi & Ms.Etali Sarmah

PGPABM
National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad

5 
 
                                                            
 
 
Table of Contents

Sl. No Particulars Page

1 Executive Summary 9-12

2 Research Design and methodology 13-18

3 Introduction 19-29

7 Value chain of agarbatti industry in North India 30-39

8 Agarbatti Stick making business in Assam & Tripura 40-45

9 Problems faced by the Agarbatti Industry 46-51

10 Potential of Agarbatti industry in North East India 52-58

11 Tools and machines used in agarbatti stick making 59-61

12 Analysis of the labour cost in agarbatti making units 62-65

13 Competitor analysis 66-76

14 Consumer Research 77-83

15 CBTC-BASIX livelihood enhancement model 84-89

16 Business Strategies for CBTC-BASIX 90-105

17 Annexure I 106-107

18 Annexure II 108-109

6 
 
                                                            
 
 

List of Tables

Table No.  Topic   Page No. 

1 Activity wise area covered for survey 16

2 Grades of Agarbatti sticks 26

3 Perfuming activity in Agarbatti making 28

4 Table: Percentage of total cost of production 32

5 Primary value chain activities 33

6 Support activities 34

7 Value of 1 truck Load of Bamboo at Agartala, Tripura (from 37

Chakmaghat)

8 Transportation charges 38

9 Value of a pkt of Agarbatti at different levels of the value chain 39

10 Cost of machine used for Agarbatti (round type) stick making 59

and their efficiencies:

11 Major Agarbatti manufacturing companies in India 73

12 80
Consumers preferences

7 
 
                                                            
 
 
List of Figures

Figure No.  Title  Page 

No. 

1 Area Covered in Assam 17

2 Area covered in Tripura 17

3 Domestic sales of Agarbatti in different regions 22

4 P 4 model 29

5 Value chain of Agarbatti stick 32

6 Value chain of bamboo pole for stick making unit in Tinsukia 35

7 Value chain of Agarbatti sticks made in Tuidu, SW Tripura 36

8 Value chain of TRIBAC, Tripura 36

9 Mark-ups along the Value Chain of Agarbatti 39

10 Area under Bamboo (in ha) in North Eastern States 53

11 Bamboo stocks (in million tonnes) in North Eastern States 54

12 Mellocana Baccifera stock in North Eastern states 54

13 Relative income per month 64

14 78
Different purchase points for Agarbatti

15 Factors influencing purchase decision 79

16 Factors of dislike for a Agarbatti brand 81

17 Price satisfaction 82

18 Demand trend for Agarbatti 83

19 CBTC-BASIX Livelihood enhancement model 88

20 CBTC-BASIX Agarbatti Cooperative Model 89

8 
 
                                                            
 
 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

"Small Opportunities are Often the Beginning of Great Enterprises."

9 
 
                                                            
 
 
The current value of agarbatti industry is placed at Rs 1800 crores and the rate of growth is
20% on a year on year basis. North Eastern Region produces 1 million tonnes of agarbatti
sticks annually. There is potential for the market to increase by another 30 crores by
mechanization of the splint making process and increasing the production.Women producers
in these regions have been restricted to primary processing of bamboo culms, i.e. producing
slivers (incense stick core), which is a very low value activity (about 2% of the final value).
Intervention of CBTC-BASIX will help to encourage women entrepreneurs for taking up
rolling of the sticks with masala along with charcoal production. This can give significantly
higher returns to the family engaged in these businesses and possibility of other business
opens up with the increase in per capita income. Credit by BASIX should be facilitated for
investing in various tools and machineries that would improve product quality and quantity
(bamboo cutters, powder pulverisers, etc). Along with this credit linked insurance policy has
scope for introduction among these families.At present, unscented rolled sticks are transported
to the South of India, incurring high transportation costs and taxes and therefore establishing a
agarbatti stick making unit along perfuming /packaging unit and marketing it initially at the
local market before going for the national roll out will certainly prove to be successful.

The visit to the round type agarbatti stick making unit in Tinsukia revealed that these units
were facing serious competition from neighbouring countries .The owners of these units
have an apprehension about future supply of bamboo .There is no financial support for
bamboo plantation in the region and people are unaware of the prospects of bamboo in the
future.

As production is often home-based, individual women are often unable to attract traders.
Women that do sell to traders are unable to command high prices due to low volume and also
low quality. Improving volumes requires credit, which is currently not available to the women
participating in the business or to NGOs that sources and provides inputs. Currently, the
limited credit does not allow for purchase of larger volumes of inputs at lower prices in bulk.
Art of the available credit also gets locked up into sales credit to retailers and is not available
for enhancing production. Intervention of BASIX with its financial products will prove very
successful in this model. The CBTC-BASIX should establish collaborations with DFOs and
selected JFMCs in relevant forest divisions to test the development of a more formalized

10 
 
                                                            
 
 
relationship between JFMCs and specific SHGs which provide the latter with guaranteed jigat
inputs. Focus on multiplying the M. macrantha tree and establishment of private planting of
the Jigat tree also needs to be taken up.

During the survey it was found that that charcoal is gathered from home kitchens where
firewood is used. This can be organized better. Charcoal needs of the sector can also be met
by bamboo partially or wholly. Small drum kilns that can be run by households using bamboo
culm parts (such as the nodes and extremes) that are not used in bamboo stick production and
which could help ensure adequate charcoal supply. If such charcoal production is inadequate,
then it should be sourced from the JFMCs too.Non-adherence to standards like separation and
breakage of masala from the core stick reduces access to higher-end markets and lowers the
confidence of major brand buyers. CBTC-BASIX should bring about coordination among
Production Clusters and access to processing machinery, i.e. bamboo cutting machines,
pulverisers and driers.

At present, the production of bamboo sticks has the lowest value added in the chain and lacks
quality control. This is largely due to current techniques employed such as, using a saw or a
dao (curved knife) for cutting the bamboo into cylinders. As a result, cylinders do not comply
with any standards. Thus, slivering bamboo into sticks from the cylinders results in
inconsistent length, which hinders the final product’s overall quality. The CBTC-BASIX
should set up a facility to produce standardized cylinders using a cross cutting machine. In
addition, women producers should be trained on how to polish bamboo sticks to add
value.Facilities for testing to ensure quality need to be put in place. Assessment methods
backed by independent laboratories that certify compliance to national standards should be
established by CBTC. Different jigat sources have various adhesive strength, which affects
the masala paste. This needs to be standardized and tested.Green bamboo is used to produce
the core sticks. Adequate drying of sticks and rolled batti is an issue that needs attention.
North East India has a long rainy season during which sticks and rolled batti need additional
drying. Households presently dry sticks using cooking stoves.

The recent gregarious flowering of Melocanna baccifera, the main bamboo used for stick
production, and the inadequate attention being paid to natural regeneration, should show up in
future scarcity of the resource closer to the villages. Villagers are taking the opportunity of the

11 
 
                                                            
 
 
death of the growing bamboo to clear the land and convert it into agriculture. While in Tripura
bamboo is getting replaced by rubber, in Tinsukia it is being replaced by tea. Sensitization is
obviously the key so that they are able to comprehend how their present actions can
jeopardize their future. Nurseries for diverse species that have certain similar culm
characteristics – such as wall thickness, inter nodal length, etc. should be established – so that
one could substitute the other in case of acute need. Introduction of managed bamboo
plantations would follow as the next logical step in ensuring Bamboo resource security.

The Tripura government informally allows collection of jigat from the forest if it is used
locally for making masala and rolling batti as long as the masala is not sold outside Tripura.
However, there is the danger that the restrictions might be enforced, in which case this could
seriously affect local production as the women producers would then incur much higher costs.

From the consumer research that was done in the present study it revealed that users were
disappointed with agarbatti sticks which burnt out easily (24%), where the compound fell of
the sticks (9%), with their size, which was not uniform (32%) and fragrance, which was not
what the pack promised(35%). Production of premium agarbatti brands with an herbal touch
for international markets can be made as the export market for agarbatti is very appealing.
Production of Agarbatti for high, middle and low end segments of the local market is also
equally important. Producing mosquito repellent agarbatti and looking out for possible sale to
the government health department for schemes like the National Health Mission for malaria
control is a possible area for targeting.

12 
 
                                                            
 
 

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

13 
 
                                                            
 
 

Purpose of the study

1. To study the Agarbatti Industry in India and develop a cluster based approach for
Agarbatti stick production and its marketing.
2. To map the potential procurement points of Bamboo for establishing a viable Agarbatti
stick making industry in an appropriate part of North -east India.
3. Value Chain analysis of the Agarbatti Supply Chain.
4. Competitor Analysis of Agarbatti players in India.
5. Formulate a comprehensive pan India marketing strategy for BASIX-CBTC brand of in
the context it’s backward and forward linkage.

In order to fulfil the above objectives the following auxiliary studies were done:

• Assessment of the machines used in agarbatti industries as a part of the technical

assessment of tools and machines used in the production of bamboo sticks for use in
agarbatti (incense stick or joss stick) in North eastern states.
• Study the possibility of establishment of linkages with local and distant markets for
regular supply of agarbatti sticks and also thus its contribution to the overall poverty
reduction strategies for the rural poor in the target area
• Map the credit facilities available for the bamboo growers.
• Study the labor cost
• Study the role of middle man in Agarbatti Value chain.
• Identify the Transportation used for Agarbatti.
• Identify the Bamboo species commonly used for Agarbatti sticks.
• Track the bottleneck in imparting technology to bamboo growers.
• Study the herbal and non herbal based agarbatti business and find out ways to integrate
the herbal resources along with bamboo resources seeing the huge scope for herbal based
agarbatti manufacturing

14 
 
                                                            
 
 

Methodology

Interview schedule was adopted for raw batti makers, scented Agarbatti makers, wholesalers,
companies, bamboo growers, farmers, and Exporters. The sample was selected in such a way
that all the Agarbatti trade channel members are covered comprehensively. The data and
information required for the study was collected from primary and secondary sources.

Primary data

Primary data was collected by conducting survey in the areas selected for study. The survey
was conducted with the help of four structured questionnaires. Different questionnaires were
formulated for the different components of the value chain, i.e. for bamboo growers, the raw
batti manufacturers, rolled Agarbatti manufacturers, traders, and the consumers.
The areas covered were Tinsukia and Guwahati Metropolitan District in Assam and
Kumarghat (North Tripura), Tuidu (South Tripura), Nalchar and Agartala (West Tripura) in
the state of Tripura. These areas were selected on the basis that they are the main centers of
Bamboo trading, Raw Agarbatti manufacturing and perfumed Agarbatti manufacturing.

Secondary data collection

¾ Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre, Guwahati

¾ Tripura Cane and Bamboo Development Centre, Agartala
¾ INBAR, Beijing
¾ CIBART, New Delhi
¾ Forest Department, Tripura

Sampling frame: The sampling frame was selected on the basis that these are the people who
play main roles in marketing Agarbatti which included:

15 
 
                                                            
 
 

¾ The Agarbatti manufacturers and local packers

¾ Traders
¾ Agarbatti stick making unit (round)
¾ Agarbatti stick making unit (square)
¾ Consumers
¾ Middleman/contractors
¾ Perfuming Unit
¾ Transporters

Sample size:

The sample size was 30 artisans rolling agarbatti, 30 agarbatti stick making artisans (square),
6 agarbatti stick making unit (round), 16 traders, 3 perfuming units, 10 packaging units, 5
brokers and 30 consumers in the state of Assam and Tripura.

Activity wise area covered:

Table 1: Activity wise area covered for survey

Area Activity covered

Tinsukia Raw Agarbatti (Round Type) making

unit, consumers

Guwahati Consumers

North Tripura Traders

West Tripura Artisans (Raw Stick makers),rolling

units

South Tripura Artisans (Raw Stick makers)

16 
 
                                                           
 
 

Areea of survey: 1. Assam

m 2. Trripura

Fig 1:: Area surv

veyed in Assam

Fig 2: Area surveeyed in Tripura

Tuidu 

17 
 
                                                            
 
 
Sampling method:
1. Selection of area
The area is selected on the basis of the main handmade and machine made Agarbatti making
areas of North Eastern India. Tripura and Assam were selected because of their location and
easy availabity of bamboo, which makes them a very strategic point for the bamboo based
industry.

2. Selection of respondents
Both the large and the small players of the market were interviewed in the course of the
survey. The middleman/traders were also interviewed to get a proper idea of the size of the
market and the agarbatti value chain. Most of the respondents were in the agarbatti business
since 10 years, except for few.

Limitations
• Time period for each district to be covered was limited.
• Many traders did not reveal their exact transactions. Questions were framed indirectly to
get the data.

Statistical analysis
The data was analyzed by using MS-Excel software. The data is presented in terms of tables,
percentages and graphs.

Important personnel consulted

1. TRIBAC, Agartala

2. Jayanti Domestic Products, Agartala

3. Supplier of Agarbatti machines, Tinsukia

4. Owners of Stick making units

5. Department of Forests, Agartala

18 
 
                                                            
 
 

INTRODUCTION

19 
 
                                                            
 
 

This feasibility study is the first phase of a multi-phase venture to facilitate the pro-poor
development of Agarbatti Industry. This phase aims at accessing the potential social and
economic impact of the industry and identifies the immediate priorities for the development of
subsequent phases for establishing agarbatti manufacturing units in North East India.
Agarbatti (Incense sticks or scented batti) is commonly known as “Dhoopbatti”. Agarbatti
have been used long since in religious prayers and at the household level, as a room freshener.
The journey of agarbatti manufacture which began from Thanjavur region of Tamil Nadu in
South India has gradually spreads to other parts of the neighbouring states. This sector has
tremendous potential and is capable of creating livelihood opportunities in the rural pockets,
especially for the women. It is a cottage industry, as a result of which large-scale rural
employment can be created to generate self employment and increase standard of living
among the rural communities .Agarbatti is a booming market in India and is estimated at
Rs.2000 cores in India(on the basis of conservative estimate of 20% year on year basis growth
of the industry). It has been observed that due to increase in the numbers of nuclear family
system in India its demand is coming up. In addition to this since agarbatti is a consumable
good, and with the increase in population its demand will always move northwards.

As per the market survey conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research
(1990), the total quantity of agarbatti produced in the country in 1990 was, 147 billion, valued
at around Rs.7 billion. The production and market size of the sector is increasing
tremendously in India and abroad. The consumers are highly concentrated among the rural
pockets (61%) in India (INBAR-1992).

In modern days, perfumed sticks are also used in houses and in other public places as air-
fresheners and/or mosquito repellents. The demand for agarbatti is increasing both in the
domestic and export markets because of the improvement in quality and increase in the types
of products. India is the largest producer of Agarbatti in the world. Dhup an aromatic powder
or paste is burnt in Indian homes as a fragrant fumigant and is reputed to possess insecticidal
and antiseptic properties. Agarbatti also known, as Udubattis similar to joss sticks are a
development of Dhup .Agarbattis are obtainable in different colours and with different
perfumes. The burning time; of an agarbatti varies from 15 minutes to 3 hours according to

20 
 
                                                            
 
 
quality and size. Agarbatti is also obtainable in other forms such as dashang (sickly paste or
powder) deep cones and Dhup, tablets etc.).

About 75% of the Agarbatti manufactured are of cheap quality containing only charcoal
powder or low quality sandal wood powder with a mixture of 50% of “wood gun” powder.
Cheap perfumes are used to give them a top note. In superior varieties, essential oils, purified
resins, natural fixatives like amber, musk and civet are used along with synthetic aromatics.
Absolutes are use in the costlier types. The main agarbatti marketing centres are situated in
Mysore and Bangalore in India. It can be taken up in rural areas without any difficulty. It
requires only low technology for manufacturing the agarbattis. Besides providing employment
to unskilled women and children, in recent years, agarbatti has increasingly become a
significant foreign exchange earner for the country. Under the liberal economic policies of the
Government, the agarbatti industry has potential to expand its global market.

Agarbatti Industry has responded well to increased demand for its products both in rural and
urban areas, mainly because of the continued availability of cheap labour force dominated by
women and children. At the same time, greater advertising costs and quality improvement
have pushed up the prices. Agarbatti industry is gradually developing a wider base. Of the
total domestic sales of Rs 7.1 billion (approx. US$ 198 million) , South India accounted for
35%, West 30%, North 18% and East 17%.

21 
 
                                                           
 
 

Fig 3: Region
R wise sale of Agaarbatti

Domestiic sales of A
Agarbatti in
n different rregions of In
ndia

40
0%

30
0%

20
0%

10
0%

0%
0
No
orth  South East Wesst

Sourcee: Industry sources

s

Alm n rural areaas (61.23%)). The poor (low-incom

most two-thhirds of conssumption taakes place in me
grooup) purchaases about 46%
4 of the value of the
t Agarbattti compared to the hiigher incom
me
cusstomers whoo buy 54% of
o total agarrbatti used.

Com
mmon factts about thee Agarbattii industry in
i India:

• A sourrce of rem
munerative employmen
e nt for poor women annd other diisadvantageed
membeers of the ruural society.
• They also
a lend suupport to the
t domestiic economyy as well aas the expo
ort sector of
o
developping countrries.
• By prooviding offf-farm incom
me generattion optionns, these baamboo-baseed livelihoood
system
ms frequentlyy absorb surrplus agricu
ultural workkers - mainlly the rural poor who do
d
not havve regular on-farm empployment.
• The prroduction of
o Agarbattti (incense sticks) sprreads acrosss rural and
d semi-urbaan
househholds.

2
22 
 
                                                            
 
 
• In India, the industry is estimated to provide income to 0.5 million people, most of
whom are contract or sub-contract labourers employed by small-scale processing
enterprises.
• Although not stable throughout the year, the daily income of an Agarbatti worker
often exceeds the minimum daily wage earned by an agricultural worker.
• The annual consumer spend in agarbatti is Rs 1,000 crore, with the organised players
(numbering just 7 or 8) accounting for 25 per cent.
• The industry, in fact, is better known as the ‘pavement industry’ since most of the non-
masala agarbatti sticks are processed on pavements and roads in front of homes.
• The sandalwood fragrance is the most preferred throughout the country

Market potential of agarbatti:

India is the world’s largest producer of incense sticks (agarbatti). In 2003, an estimate by the
Planning Commission of India valued the annual domestic market for incense sticks at
US$400 million, with a yearly growth rate of 20% annually. Agarbatti is used for both
religious purposes as well as home fragrance purposes. In addition to this large domestic
market, the international demand for incense sticks too is growing rapidly. From 2001 to
2003, India’s agarbatti export grew from US$36 million to US$44 million. Besides the Asian
community shops, a number of fair trade shops and retailers in Australia, Europe and North
America now stock extensive lines of incense sticks, with India operating as a major supplier.
In addition to regular perfumed incense sticks, there is a great potential for products such as
herbal incense sticks, air-fresheners, aromatherapy incense, mosquito repellents, etc. In
Africa, for example, mosquito-repellent incense sticks have a popular market.

Agarbatti is almost used by all communities in India, Sri Lanka, Burma and by Indians
residing abroad. According to an estimate, the combined value of internal and commercial
uses of bamboo in the world is about Rs 50,000 crores annually. This is supposed to be
around Rs 100,000 crores by 2015. More than half of the world’s consumption of bamboo is
in China. China’s export of bamboo products is close to Rs 10,000 crores. As against this,
India’s size of the domestic bamboo economy is estimated at Rs 2043 crores by the Planning

23 
 
                                                            
 
 
Commission. The Market potential is, however, estimated at Rs 4463 crores, which could
grow to Rs. 26,000 crores by 2015.

As on today about 90 foreign countries are using agarbatti. Rising demand for the products
and earning of hard currency has led the Agarbatti industry to orient itself increasingly
towards exports. Total exports have increased by 266%, from Rs 1.5 billion (approx. US$ 42
million) in 1989-90 to Rs 4 billion (approx. US$ ll2 million) in 1993-94. More than
800registered and 3000 unregistered units currently exist in the country and only up to 10% of
these are engaged in export.

Characteristics of the agarbatti industry:

The Agarbatti industry in India operates in the informal sector. The enterprises are located
both in rural and urban areas. The labour force engaged is largely unorganized, although some
workers, especially those working for large establishments and particularly in Bangalore,
receive some of the social security benefits enjoyed by their counterparts in organized private
undertakings. Manufacturing is done on a piece-meal basis, with individual families being
contracted to assemble Agarbatti sticks being the most common mode.

In India, Agarbatti production is a major artisanal sector. There are more than 10,000
units operating in the sector, with unregistered units outnumbering the registered ones. These
units spread across rural and semi-urban households, providing employment opportunities to
nearly 800,000 household based women workers (and their children). The industry thus leads
to home-based income generating opportunities for very large numbers of women. In addition
to these women, a further, 4-5 million people are employed in other segments of the sector.
The majority of these people are contract and sub-contract workers employed by small-scale
processing enterprises. In total, women constitute 90% of the workforce, with approximately
80% working as home based family labour. Agarbatti production uses traditional skills and
renewable resources largely obtained from forests. While production requires simple
technologies and low capital investments, the agarbatti industry is highly labour intensive. In
this lies the attractiveness of the agarbatti sector for rural poverty alleviation since a large
number of people can benefitted.

24 
 
                                                            
 
 

Raw Materials & Production Process:

Primary raw materials used for Agarbatti include bamboo, jigat (adhesive powder made from
the bark of Maclilus macrantha tree) and non-commercial wood for charcoal. The production
process of Agarbatti essentially entails four stages:

(1) Production of bamboo sticks for the central core of the Agarbatti

(2) Production and preparation of charcoal and jigat powder

(3) Preparation of incense paste (masala) and its application onto the core to produce the batti
and

(4) Scenting, or application of perfume, to produce the Agarbatti, followed by packaging.

The value addition at the first stage is very low. The last step has the highest value addition
and is usually conducted by companies that own the brand. The formula of perfume mix for
each brand is proprietary and a trade secret, similar to most high value perfumes and
colognes. The first and third processes, which involve the production of non-perfumed
incense sticks (called batti), are usually contracted out to home-based workers. However,
companies often retain a few in-house rollers for quality control and for higher quality
product. Charcoal production is done through simple kilns in rural areas. While some jigat is
produced within India, a considerable amount is imported, mostly from South East Asia,
predominantly from Indonesia and Thailand.

a. Production of Bamboo Sticks:

Bamboo sticks used for Agarbatti are of two types-round and square .Round sticks are
machine made while square sticks are handmade. The industry uses Jati and Muli species of
bamboo .There are different grades of bamboo sticks used for Agarbatti manufacturing. The
most common four grades includes-

25 
 
                                                            
 
 

Table 2: Grades of Agarbatti sticks

1. Super Medium Bamboo sticks (S.M): Consist of more than 6000 sticks /kg.

2. Medium Bamboo sticks (M.B): Should have more than 5000 sticks/kg.

3. Fine Bamboo sticks (F.M): Should have more than 7000 sticks/kg.

4. Special Bamboo sticks (SPL): Should have 4200-4500 sticks /kg.

Length and thickness of the sticks:

The most common grades of sticks produced in these units include sticks of length 8,9,10
inches. Besides these sticks, sticks of other lengths are also produced, but at most the length
of the sticks produced in these units is 20 inches. While the thickness of sticks varies across
different ranges- 1-25 inches, 1.5 inches,2, 2.2, 2.5, 3, 5 inches. The North-eastern States have
pioneered in the production of raw bamboo sticks due to the abundance of bamboos in these
areas .The State of Tripura along with Assam is contributing 80% of total requirement of raw
bamboo sticks for hand rolled Agarbatti .The assorted Agarbatti are made in rural pockets of
north eastern states as a house hold activity. Four grades of bamboo sticks are made as per the
market demand with different rates, lengths and thicknesses. The required raw materials
(bamboos) are collected from the adjoining forest or local market. The raw sticks come to the
local hat (Market) on a weekly basis .The agents collect the sticks as per rates and
specifications. The collective bargaining is very poor among the rural artisans, due to the lack
of federation or unity among them. After collecting the sticks, the individual agents supply
them to the dealer. The dealers grade the sticks and finally dispatch them to their respective
destinations i.e. Bangalore, Gaya, Hyderabad, Kolkata, etc.

26 
 
                                                            
 
 

b. Hand rolling of battis or Masala Sticks:

Hand rolling of battis is the second stage of agarbatti manufacture. Producing hand rolled
non-scented battis bamboo sticks, charcoal (wood /bamboo), jigat and narua powder is
required. The” jigat” acts as an adhesive to bind the charcoal with the sticks. Jigat is obtained
from the bark of a tree, Maclilus makarantha commonly known as Chang peechala, Mandai
awaal, jeelseem and Basra bukhui. These trees are found in the North-eastern region. The
community SHG members and JFMCs trained people on scientific extraction of bark and
processing for dust, in order to increase additional income for the groups and individuals. The
‘jigat’ and charcoal dust are mixed thoroughly and rolled onto the raw sticks and are called
“non-scented battis or masala battis” which are then sun dried and sent to the market.

c. Scenting, Packaging & Marketing:

The masala battis or non-scented battis are dipped in a variety of perfumes and then packed
with the respective brand names for sale in the market. Sometimes, the marketing is being
done by a separate agency as per their market reach in each specific region or country. The
North-eastern States have ample capacity to set-up Agarbatti enterprises at the community
level in rural pockets. This enterprise is capable of creating rural employment and sustainable
livelihood opportunity among the community people. The following are the ingredients that
are normally used for perfuming 1 kg of rolled agarbatti sticks.

Fibra batti:

1. Sandal-200gm
2. Jigat-200gm
3. Charcoal-300gm
4. Honey-400gm
5. Rogir-200gm
6. Oil-200gm

27 
 
                                                            
 
 
Apart of the above the following are found in a typical perfuming unit of an agarbatti
unit.
(a) Gangam
(b) Vaneline
(c) Citric acid
(d) Tonalizeo BS
(e) Babul powder

Table 3: Perfuming activity in Agarbatti making

1 kg count=1400-1800 sticks

1 agarbatti stick absorbs 0.3 ml perfume

1 kg Agarbatti (i.e. around 1400-1800 sticks) consumes 480ml perfume

1 litre solution can be used for 2400-2700 stick

1 litre solution =3.44 kg sticks (in certain cases)

1 kg absorbs=290 ml

Focus of the present study

The present study is an attempt to highlight the several dimensions to scale-up the
community-led Agarbatti enterprises in the region .Such community-led Agarbatti enterprises
create rural employment and livelihood generation in a sustainable manner with the active
participation of people both at the public and private level. This approach is known as the
Peoples, Private and Public Partnership (P4) approach. A demand –based production system
can help to set-up the agarbatti industry as a community enterprise on a sustainable basis. The
need of the hour is a proper design in order to implement the program in a sustainable way.
Such a design has been developed and is referred to as the “People, Private, and Public
Partnership approach” or the P4 approach. By adopting the P4 approach, the agarbatti

28 
 
                                                            
 
 
enterprise development activities can be implemented in the planned manner, on a sustainable
basis with the active community participation.

The P4 approach aims at achieving its goals through:

a. Intensive Motivation Campaign (IMC)

b. Capacity Building
c. Resource Development
d. Financial Opportunities
e. Community Business Development Plan
f. Monitoring & Evaluation

The forward and backward linkages could be done through different partners at the
community level.

Fig 4: P4 Model

Community  PRIVATE 
   based 
Agarbatti  NGOs 
   PUBLIC 

Market
Finance People  Linkages
Training
&
Technology

          

    SHGs      SHGs 

29 
 
                                                            
 
 

VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF THE AGARBATTI

INDUSTRY IN INDIA

30 
 
                                                            
 
 

Value chain analysis is needed in the Agarbatti industry because of the following reasons:

1. In Agarbatti industry, transportation cost is increasing.

2. Credit facility is not adequate.
3. 3-12% rejection of the sticks procured from North Eastern States by companies of Andhra
Pradesh and in Bangalore.
4. Off season on rainy season affects the availability of raw materials.
5. Transit Permit and Royalty has to be withdrawn
6. 4% tax on manufactured has to be withdrawn
7. Anti dumping investigation needed for the import from Vietnam and Taiwan is increasing
completion.
8. Harvesting technology of jigat has to extend to villagers and JFM families.

The value chain of raw bamboo sticks, masala battis, scented battis, packaging and
marketing have been projected as given in the next page.

31 
 
                                                           
 
 
Fig 5: Vaalue chain of Agarbattti stick

Raw
w Bamboo 
Stticks(2%)

Masalaa battis/ Non‐
scented battis  (8%)

Perfu
umes (30%)

Paackaging 
Mate
erials (30%)

Markketing (20%)

Misccellaneous 
(10%)

Agarrbatti in the 
market
m

Tab
ble 4: Perccentage of total cost off productioon

Sl. No P
Particulars % of the total
01. R Bambooo Sticks
Raw 2%
02. M
Masala battiis/ Non-scen
nted battis 8%
03. P
Perfumes 30%
04. P
Packaging M
Materials 30%
05. M
Marketing 20%
06. M
Miscellaneo
ous 10%
T
Total 100

Thee value chaiin of hand-rrolled agarbbatti, as prod

duced in a tyypical unit in North Eaast India is as
a
folllows. The cost
c at the hands
h of thee consumerr is about Rs
R 0.50 per stick, depending on thhe

3
32 
 
                                                            
 
 
brand and size, and could go up to Rs 0.75 per stick based on the number of stakeholders in
the value chain. The basic ingredients cost just around Rs 0.004 because:

1. The bamboo is available at almost no cost, as it is free for tribal processors, and

2. All primary value-adding activities – cross cutting, cleaning, slicing and slivering – are
done at one point.

Bamboo stick making is viable only when the bamboo poles are harvested free
from the forest. Rolling incense paste (masala) onto the stick adds significant value .The next
value addition step is perfuming and then packaging, at the end of which a stick costs about
Rs 0.30 (about US$0.01), including a profit margin of 20%. Beyond this point, the value
addition is largely expensive incurred for activities such as marketing, transportation and
sales.

Table 5 Primary value chain activities

Primary Description
Activity

Inbound The bamboo is brought to the factories through trucks, prior to which bamboo
logistics is brought by river or dragged from interior places either manually or through
elephants.
Raw bamboo is transformed into agarbatti sticks in two forms-Round
stick(Most common in Tinsukia which is machine made) & Square
Operations stick(Hand made)
Outbound The sticks are sent to distant places by trucks and mostly by train.
logistics
Marketing The manufacturing units sell the sticks directly to traders in Bangalore, Delhi
and sales & Kolkata or to traders in Tinsukia itself who in turn sell it.
Service Samples are sent to buyers in different states and according to their
requirements production is carried out.

33 
 
                                                            
 
 

Table 6: Support activities

Secondary Description
Activity

Procurement Bamboo is procured either as pole or in the form of sticks. Some units
bring split bamboo.

HRM Both men and women are involved in stick making units. women does
finer job like sorting

Technology Machines used for making rolled sticks are both local and imported from
Development Taiwan, China, etc. While in some cases the machines are local made, but
the cutters are imported.

Infrastructure Machines are housed in semi-concrete floor

Value chain of one bamboo pole to stick making units in Tinsukia

A stick making unit in Tinsukia procures bamboo at the rate of Rs. 40-45 depending on the
availability. The farmer in the village earns only about Rs. 10-15 per bamboo pole. The major
part of the cost increase is partly due to two reasons-intervening of the middle men and high
cost of transportation.

34 
 
                                                           
 
 

Figg 6: Value chain

c of bam
mboo pole for stick making
m unitt in Tinsukiia

Cost of 1 bam
mboo  pole att
the villlage level
Rs.1
10‐15

C
Cost of
( 3‐4 )mid
ddleman / po
ole
Rs.15

Cost off  Trasportation/pole
Rs.8‐10

Cost of 1 baamboo  pole at 
stick making unit
40‐45
Rs.4

Vallue chain of
o Agarbattti sticks in Tripura:
T

Eaach stake hoolder earns around

a 25-550 paise pro
ofit/kg stickk accordingg to the artissans and alsso
the traders. Thhey normallly sell at thhe nearest market placce which iss almost 2k
km from thhis
villlage directlly to the subb-contractorr and get aro
ound Rs. 7.55/kg. Norm
mally they take 40 kg in a
rickkshaw for which
w they have
h to payy Rs. 20 perr 40 kg. Thiis amount oof Agarbattii stick is sennt
on weekly basis. The locaal markets are
a generallly operationnal on Thurssday and Su
unday. Thesse
fam
milies normaally source the bambooo from theiir own bam
mboo gardenn and mostlly from willd
planntations easily availabble in the region.
r Theere are a tootal of 27 ffamilies in this village.
Acccording to them
t also 4 kg sticks can be prod
duced from
m one bamboo. In the Tuidu
T bazaaar
therre are aboutt 7-8 traderss who norm
mally buy thee Agarbatti sticks.

3
35 
 
                                                           
 
 
Figg7: Value ch
hain of Agaarbatti sticcks made in
n Tuidu, Am
mpi block iin South weest Tripuraa

Figg8: Value ch
hain of TR
RIBAC, Trip
pura

3
36 
 
                                                            
 
 

Table 7: Value of 1 truck Load of Bamboo at Agartala, Tripura (from Chakmaghat)

Expenses Rate For 3500 poles For 3000 poles

Lifting at Rs 13 per 100 poles 455 390

Chakmaghat

Binding the pole Rs 13 per 100 poles 455 390

Loading on to the 420 420

truck

Unloading from 400 400

truck

Rent of truck 2350 2350

Drivers charge 300 300

Forest tax (official) Rs 303 per 1000 1060 909

poles

Facilitation charges Variable 175 175

Buying of Bamboo Rs 380 per 100 poles 13300 11400

Total value of 1 18915 16734

truck

37 
 
                                                            
 
 
Table 8: Transportation charges for 1 truck load of Bamboo from TUIDU to
AGARTALA

Items Rate for 1000 bamboo

(Amount in Rs.)
Official
IT Rs 38
Sales tax Rs 5
Vat Rs 10
Forest Tax(Masul) Rs 250
Total official charges Rs 303/1000 bamboo pole
Unofficial charges
Transit Pass Rs 100
At Forest gate (A) Gamaibari Rs 100
(B) Champaknagar Rs 100
(C) Khayerpur Rs 75
Total Unofficial Charges Rs 275
Miscellaneous
Transportation cost Rs 2200
Loading charge for 1 truck Rs 600
Unloading Rs 300
Driver charges Rs 300
Labour Rs 500
Total Miscellaneous Rs 3900
Grand total Rs. 4478

38 
 
                                                           
 
 
Figgure 9: Marrk-ups alon
ng the Valu
ue Chain off Agarbattii

1
100

80
70
53
38

2.2

Tab
ble 9: Valu
ue of an Rs
R 5 pkt of Agarbatti with 20 stticks at diffferent leveels along th
he
value chain

Enttity Value in Rupees

R

Rurral artisan Rs 0.11

Maanufacturer Rs1.91

Maanufacturer
(aftter marketinng cost) Rs 2.66

Whholesaler Rs 3.5

Rettailer Rs 4

Connsumer Rs 5

3
39 
 
                                                            
 
 

STUDY ON THE AGARBATTI STICK MAKING

BUSINESS OF ASSAM & TRIPURA

40 
 
                                                            
 
 
Agarbatti stick making business of Tinsukia:

Agarbatti stick making is an important business in Tinsukia district of Assam. Of the two
kinds of sticks used for Agarbatti-round and square, Tinsukia is the centre for manufacture of
round machine made sticks. Square sticks are also manufactured in the district, but in small
scale. The industry uses Jati species of bamboo which are procured from adjoining areas.
These sticks are supplied to the Agarbatti manufacturing units at Bangalore, Kolkata and
Delhi. There are 4-5 bamboos selling retail outlets in Tinsukia. Unit consumption of bamboo
in Tinsukia is approximately 1000 bamboo/ day. While monthly consumption of bamboo in
Tinsukia is approximately 25,000 bamboo poles / day.

Mode and form of bamboo transportation

Bamboo is transported from its source to these industries by various modes.

1. The cheapest source of transportation is by river Brahmaputra which involves almost

zero transportation charges. In this system bamboo is tied together at its procurement
point in Sadiya and this takes the form of a raft which is sailed across the river and is
collected at Guijan ghat near Tinsukia. This distance of approximately 45 kilometres is
covered in almost 8-10 hours depending upon the speed of the waves.
2. Bamboo is brought to Tinsukia by the suppliers by truck either as bamboo poles
or after cutting them into smaller pieces. The capacity of one truck carrying bamboo
poles is about 400-500 bamboo poles depending on the size of the poles.
3. Bamboo slivers are also supplied from the nearby villages through auto rickshaws.
4. In the interior places dragging is done both manually and by elephants.

Availability status of bamboo in the region and major constraints:

Currently though bamboo is available in the nearby places, people are not coming up with
new plantations. According to a local bamboo supplier if now no new bamboo plantation is
encouraged in the coming years the available plantation can feed the exiting industries in the
region only up to a maximum period of five years. Currently there are still many people in the
villages who have bamboo baris up to 40 bighas.

41 
 
                                                            
 
 
Major constraints faced by the stick making units in Tinsukia

There is no financial support for bamboo plantation in the region and people are unaware of
the prospects of bamboo in the future. Contract farming if encouraged can be successful in the
region. People nowadays are not interested in growing bamboo in the Tinsukia region. Huge
amount of bamboo areas has already been brought under tea plantation and much more are
being planned to be brought under it. The main reason behind this is the diversion of upland
areas from bamboo to Tea plantation.

The main reasons for conversion of bamboo areas into tea include:

1. Transportation of bamboo is difficult due to its length

2. Lack of awareness among the local people about the potentiality of bamboo and they do not
see any bright prospects in the future.

3. As the tea factories are coming up locally and ready infrastructure is available in the region,
they feel that there is more security in taking up tea plantation.

4. No knowledge of government support available for bamboo plantation

5. Producers of bamboo do not know whom to sale their produce.

6. Backward and forward linkages are not clear to the people.

Potentiality for bamboo plantation in the Tinsukia region

But according to the bamboo suppliers of Tinsukia, bamboo has greater potential than tea. So,
considering the likely demand-supply gap in the near future they themselves are taking
initiative to take up plantation on their own and also is encouraging contract farming of
bamboo. They see great prospects in this industry, but the greatest problem for them right now
is that due to lack of awareness among people in the villages about the potential of bamboo as
a prosperity crop people are giving up plantation of bamboo. Awareness generation at this
stage is of utmost necessity at this hour.

42 
 
                                                            
 
 

1. Tea rate is dependent on international market

2. For plantation of tea on one bigha land cost of plantation comes to near about Rs.
10000, whereas plantation of one bigha land for bamboo involves only about Rs3500.
3. Production of bamboo is more profitable than bamboo as it involves almost no
maintenance and input cost once it is planted. While tea needs pruning and addition of
agricultural inputs which involves huge cost along with labour both
4. Both bamboo and tea starts giving yield third year onwards and reaches maturity
after 25 years
5. From one bamboo sapling almost 500 bamboos can be obtain at the time of maturity,
nearly2-3 bamboo can be cut from each plant every year.
TUIDU, South-west Tripura

Main source of income in many of the villages in Tripura is through Agarbatti stick making.
There are many areas where Jhum cultivation is still followed. People in these areas cultivate
paddy for their own consumption and mainly grow vegetables like–small chilli, brinjal and
beans and fruits like pineapple. In some cases the entire village comprising of 30-50 families
are into Agarbatti stick making. If the entire family works on a full time basis then 10-15 kg
sticks @ Rs 7/kg can be produced which gives an income of Rs. 70-105/day/family. Part time
activity generates 3kg/day/family The species of bamboo used for Agarbatti stick making in
the region are-Wamlik (Average weight 10 kg), Wanal (Average weight 10 kg) and muli
known as watia in the local language. If the average weight of the bamboo is 12 kg then the
Agarbatti sticks produced from these species is 4kg.In villages like Palku in Tuidu, Ampi
block in South west Tripura a family works for 2-3 hours daily for Agarbatti stick making.
They normally work in the evening time from 7p.m to 11 p.m. A family of three people can
produce 5kg sticks per day. According to these families the prices of Agarbatti sticks has been
increased by the trades/subcontractors themselves at Tuidu market. According to the families
the major problem faced by them is that they want to produce more but cannot due to lack of
machineries and they do not have any financial support to purchase machineries. There are
collection centres of the contractors at Tuidu market.

43 
 
                                                            
 
 

Procurement points of bamboo in Tinsukia district of Assam

Main bamboo procuring areas for Tinsukia region include-Sadia, Philobari, Pengari,
Kathalguri, Longton, Hasok, Kakapathar ,Dirok ,Sonpura, Chabua, Hatiali,etc. The cheapest
source of transportation is by river Brahmaputra which involves almost zero transportation
charges. In this system bamboo is tied together at its procurement point in Sadia and this takes
the form of a raft which is sailed across the river and is collected at Guijan ghat near Tinsukia.
Moreover some amount of bamboo is also procured from the adjoining Arunachal Pradesh.

Procurement of bamboo in Tripura

Chakmaghat is a point on the banks of the Khowai River which is around 5km from
Teliamara and around 55km from Agartala. Here bamboo is lifted from the river on to the
trucks that move to Agartala. These bamboos are brought from faraway places like
Ganganagar, Jalsara, Jigalsarai, and Munasara which are area around 60-80 km. from
Chakamaghat. The tribal villagers make rafts of bamboo of around 200 bamboo poles per raft
and are being paid on delivery in Chakmaghat only on Thursdays per week. Normally it takes
around three days to bring these bamboos from those faraway places to Chakmaghat. Price of
procurement at Chakmaghat is Rs.350 -380 per 100 poles for small diameter bamboo and this
price varies upto Rs 500 per 100 sticks. According to the contractor in the truck they sell the
bamboo procured from Chakmaghat @Rs.7/stick.

Activities at Kumarghat, Tripura

There are two Trader’s Associations in Kumarghat and these associations have links with the
fisheries association of Andhra Pradesh whose trucks come for supply. The empty trucks are
loaded with Agarbatti sticks (raw) and send to Bangalore which keeps the cost of
transportation lower. Some of these traders also have depots in Bangalore. There are large
numbers of collection centres of Agarbatti sticks in Kumarghat.

Currently, traders in North-eastern India, buy bamboo sticks from individual rural household
producers who are paid according to the number of kilos of sticks produced. They grade the
sticks based on count (number of sticks in a one kilo bundle), pack into gunny bags, and truck

44 
 
                                                            
 
 
them to large Agarbatti producing companies in distant urban centres (mainly Bangalore and
Mysore in southern India, but increasingly locations in other states as well). Most traders also
act as financiers. All payments are made in cash and informally outside the banking system.

The present study revealed that home-based workers producing bamboo sticks receive a little
over 2% of the final retail value. In comparison, batti rolling is more value-adding job and
accounts for nearly 10% of the overall value addition. Elements of brand differentiation –
which include perfuming, packaging and advertising – account in equal share for 60% of the
total costs. Another 30% is spent by manufacturers on transportation, marketing, dealer
margins, etc. Since household producers convert round bamboo into sticks, or roll batti, they
derive the least value because their participation in higher value adding activities is negligible.

Incense sticks value chains in North East India are best understood when analyzed within a
national context. North East India´s incense sticks industry meets consumer demands for both
national and international markets. It remains a major supplier of bamboo sticks. While in the
past, Tripura supplied 90% of all bamboo sticks used, a considerable amount of stick
production is now taking place in other states who have understood the opportunity and its
significance. Furthermore, the Agarbatti industry is growing rapidly and expanding to other
parts of the country at the cost of North East India. If this trend is to continue, the impact
could be severe on countless poor rural women of North Eastern States (and men, who
participate in the making of sticks, though not in the rolling). As a response to this situation,
INBAR developed a community-based bamboo Agarbatti production programme, which was
implemented by TRIBAC in Tripura. Similar programme can be initiated by CBTC in
partnership with MFIs like BASIX to cover the credit needs of the rural artisans involved in
Rawbatti making or rolling of Agarbatti.

45 
 
                                                            
 
 

PROBLEMS FACED BY AGARBATTI INDUSTRY:

46 
 
                                                            
 
 

1. Policy and Regulatory Framework

Although North eastern States’ share in the national market for bamboo sticks is decreasing,
the actual market is growing at the rate of 20% per year. The export market is mainly run by
large national companies, based predominantly in the south of India. Although, North eastern
sticks are competitive on a production centre basis, this cost advantage is largely negated by
high transportation costs. Given that over 30,000 poor women producers in North East depend
on the national market, this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Furthermore, these
women are dependent on the incense stick market as their only source of income.
At present, production in North East relies on masala imported mainly from Kolkata traders,
even though all the input resources are available within the region. This is expensive.
Currently, poor women producers have access to bamboo and jigat resources through the
NGOs at no cost since they work on a labour rate basis. While the sourcing of jigat from
forests is allowed informally, there is the danger that the restrictions might be enforced, in
which case this could seriously affect local production as the women producers would then
incur much higher costs.
In addition, the taxation regime also reduces market competitiveness. For example, taxes on
manufacturing establishments are arbitrary, government does not realize the fragility of the
value chain and the effect even small levies can have on competitiveness and therefore on the
livelihoods of countless women. Women producers and small manufacturers are frequently
harassed and penalized by the authorities. Sales tax on agarbatti of 8% (in Karnataka the rate
was 10% until recently) .The taxes on raw materials such as bamboo, charcoal, jigat and
aromas - which range between 25-90% .Taxes on manufacturing establishments are arbitrary,
and small manufacturers are frequently harassed and penalized by the authorities. Taxation is
done on an ad hoc basis: not only is there a sales tax on the finished product, but most of the
raw materials are also taxed. The burden of taxation is more in the case of perfumes which are
imported. The absence of acceptable industrial rules also causes problems. For example,
except for Karnataka, no other state has brought Agarbatti manufacturing under the purview
of the Factories Act. The Agarbatti industry is still facing long delays in obtaining
government permission to start a production unit (average time taken is 3-4 months).

47 
 
                                                            
 
 
Apart from different rates of taxation, varied labour law requirements and sales tax across
states creates many anomalies. For instance, Karnataka is the only state where the agarbatti
industry falls under the purview of the Factories Act, which consequently has to pay wages
for the workers in line with minimum wage requirements. In Karnataka, both factory and
home based workers are paid as per the stipulations of the Factories Act. Factory based
workers are also provided with social security coverage. While in other states, this sector does
not fall under the purview of any legislation and is simply deemed an informal sector.
Moreover, poor statistics impede policy support. As previously mentioned, there are more
than 10,000 units operating in the sector, with unregistered units outnumbering the registered
ones. As the industry is predominantly home based, local and national government have
minimal trade and tax revenue data. Due to these factors, the industry continues to be largely
informal, making it difficult to develop effective policies, which can protect women
producers.
Up-scaling and replication – both vertical and horizontal – and product diversification that
would inevitably follow, have to be based on solid, verified market data. Such data is also
important to persuade government to provide support. For example, due to lack of data, many
agarbatti products are incorrectly labelled. Therefore, the origin of production is often
inaccurate. This can seriously impede the ability of local women producers to develop a brand
image.

Batti rolling micro enterprises remain an attractive source of income for rural women despite
low value addition and low incomes derived from rolling. Besides being able to work from
their homes, these women receive stable and regular incomes once a week in cash. As the
market grows, women may receive higher incomes which can provide for household security.
There are few alternative off-farm income options; agriculture produces low returns and
unsteady income.

2. Labour shortage

Shortage of labour, specifically shortage of workers with experience in the industry, is

hampering further development of the agarbatti industry towards improved quality and export
growth. Karnataka is a case in point. Large-scale emergence of the garment sector in major

48 
 
                                                            
 
 
urban areas such as Bangalore has created a major shift of the traditional labour force to the
garment industry, forcing the agarbathi industry to operate with inexperienced workers. This
has led to some manufacturers shifting their operations to neighbouring states such as Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

3. Credit constraints

Agarbatti making units, although categorized under the Small Industry Act, do not easily
qualify for subsidized or regular bank loans owing to various reasons. One of the commonest
reasons is the laxity of bank officials which causes considerable delay in sanctioning loans to
set up a small enterprise. Another reason is the difficulty that small manufacturers face in
furnishing collateral that would satisfy the bank officials.

4. Advertising and Marketing Cost

Agarbatti producers are getting lower returns on their investment owing to their complete
dependence on middlemen and wholesalers for marketing. Often 60-70% of the total cost can
be due to transportation, marketing and advertising, and retailers are completely at the mercy
of agents and wholesalers. Continuously increasing transport costs are especially cutting into
profit margins. Means of controlling such costs are lacking because of the non-existence of
cooperatives or an effective association of the Agarbatti manufacturers. In India, Agarbatti,
despite recent increases in exports, is still an industry that caters predominantly to the
domestic market. However, because of its ‘green’ label, non-polluting method of processing
and, above all, the use of indigenous technology, the incense sticks can be promoted to gain
international markets

5. Scale of Operation

The scale of operation can be a major problem to small-scale manufacturers. Larger

manufacturers with better access to credit and raw materials, as well as better rapport with tax
officials, easily beat the smaller units in competition. The larger units are also partially
mechanized, creating better saleable products. Additionally, they sell their products through
nationwide networks of distributors, thus reducing the cost of marketing and transportation.

49 
 
                                                            
 
 
As a result, small producers are either producing low-quality products or are closing down
their operations altogether. Some units that survive are doing so by catering to the ‘niche’
markets

6. Research and Development Support

The Agarbatti industry is one of the few private sector industries that lack R & D support to
address the quality, range of products and other problems faced by the Agarbatti sector.

7. Entry of MNCs:

The entry of multinational and large companies into the Agarbatti industry, which has largely
remained unorganised, has put pressure on many small and medium Agarbatti manufacturers.
While many manufacturers have stopped making Agarbatti, some others have taken to selling
the products of big companies. After liberalisation many MNCs have ventured into this sector.
The declining margins in their traditional products such as soaps and detergents and the near
stagnant growth of these products over the last few years have forced multinationals and
others diversify into Agarbatti making. The low cost of entry into the industry has also lured
the big companies to build Agarbatti brands. The result has been that the small and medium
players have been affected due to the huge spending by the big companies on brand building,
distribution and trade schemes.

In fact, many of the agarbatti manufacturers, a few, are regional players with limited resources
who cannot counter the big companies.

One of the prime reasons for the MNCs to enter this sector was that

(I) The Agarbatti industry has been growing at an average rate of 10 per cent annum,
whereas the growth in consumer durables was either stagnant or growth.
(II) Agarbatti is a fast-moving product with a good shelf life. The demand has been growing
by around 20 per cent in northern, eastern and western States.
(III) The demand for Agarbatti and other products had gone up worldwide with increasing
awareness on Indian spirituality and growing popularity of aroma therapy, especially
among the youth. India's Agarbatti exports touched Rs. 300 crores.
50 
 
                                                            
 
 
(IV) The product was being exported to West Asia, Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia.
China was emerging as a big market as well as a competitor.

Traditional Agarbatti manufacturers could compete with the big players if the quality of the
product was good. In fact, he said, many companies that entered the market had withdrawn
from it as they were unable to ensure quality.

In the light of small and medium companies being affected by the trade practices of bigger
companies, a regulatory body or a mechanism to prevent unfair trade practices as well as
trade schemes should be set up. Otherwise, there could be monopoly at a later stage.

8. Competition in stick making from neighbouring countries

The round stick making units in Tinsukia are facing serious competition from neighbouring
countries like Vietnam , Taiwan, China ,etc which are also into round stick making. Because
of cheaper sticks that these countries are able to supply to vendors in Bangalore, the stick
making units in Tinsukia are not getting good price. According to an estimate if there would
have been no competition from the neighbouring countries the industries in Tinsukia could
have even fetched a price of up to Rs. 80/kg, and for which they are only getting Rs. 35-45/kg

51 
 
                                                            
 
 

POTENTIAL OF THE INDUSTRY IN

NORTH –EAST INDIA

52 
 
                                                            
 
 

As per conservative estimate around 160 lakhs prospective consumers are having of scented
Agarbatti in North Eastern States. It has also been estimated that Rs.50 crores turn over are
taking place per annum on Agarbatti marketing activities in the region. The existing brand of
Agarbattis is coming from Kolkata, Bangalore etc. Presently, in the region there is no as such
prospective local entrepreneur to meet-out the existing demand and supply. In the region, an
enabling environment has already been created on hand rolled agarbatti through active
participation of local community (Self Help Groups, Joint Forest Management Committee
etc) to enhance their skills and knowledge on production process. It is the right time to
develop a local brand and marketing the product should help the community and micro
entrepreneur to get the competitive price and more value-addition in the state. Moreover, an
environment should develop for the local entrepreneur to set-up the industry and able to
provide an incremental vale on rolling batti to the community producers groups.

Figure 10: Area under Bamboo (in ha) in North Eastern States

Area under bamboo(ha)
Area under bamboo(ha)
921000
821300

459000
369200
310200

75800 93900

Arunachal  Assam Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Tripura

Pradesh

53 
 
                                                           
 
 
Figu
ure 11: Bam
mboo stock
ks (in millio
on tonnes) in
i North Eastern Stattes

Baamboo stock (million tonnes)
Baamboo stock (million tonnes)

1
13.41
11
1.47 10.89
9
9.84

4.41 3.66
0.86

Arrunachal  Assam Man

nipur Meghaalaya Mizoraam Nagaland
d Tripura
P
Pradesh

Figure 12:
1 Mellocaana Baccifeera (most co
ommon speecies used ffor Agarba
atti)

stock in North
N Easteern states

M. B
Bacciferra stockk (millio
on tonne
es)
M B
Baccifera stocck (million tonnes)

0.66
10 10.51
1

4
3.4

0
0.57 0.81

Arrunachal  Assam Man

nipur Meghaalaya Mizoraam Nagaland
d Tripura
P
Pradesh

Maany initiativves have alrready starteed in this sector.

s Likee the SHG members of Amarpuur,
Trippura is pllanning to set-up
s a pacckaging, scenting and marketing unit at Am
marpur, Soutth

5
54 
 
                                                            
 
 
Tripura (with financial assistance from PD-DRDA South. Similar units should be set-up under
the frame work of cluster development initiative of respective state Bamboo Mission.

North East India has the natural resources needed for Agarbatti production. This could be
used to its advantage and much more of value derived than that from only bamboo stick
production. Natural resources grow in abundance, although in some areas these are in short
supply. Initiatives in this regards has already been taken by TRIBAC in Tripura.TRIBAC
introduced the rolling of incense sticks. Initially, TRIBAC used to buy masala from outside
the state, but has incrementally introduced charcoal and jigat production within the state. Both
are key ingredients of masala. Still much of the masala remains a bought-out item since
simple facilities like milling units to powder charcoal and jigat are not in place. Decentralized
facilities are needed closer to growing locations. One innovation was the replacement of wood
charcoal by bamboo charcoal since bamboo is more sustainable than trees. This model of
TRIBAC can very well be replicated by CBTC-BASIX.

There is tremendous potential for the Agarbatti production and marketing business to flourish
in North-east India. The major reason behind this is easy and sustainable supply of raw
materials in the sector with easy availability of labour.

¾ Entrepreneurship development

Several clusters of artisans/ micro-entrepreneurs have developed in the North Eastern region.
The most important are in the Lower Brahmaputra valley (Nalbari, Barpeta and Nagaon), in
Upper Assam (Lakhimpur), in the Barak valley (Silchar, Karimganj), in Tripura (Agartala),
Arunachal (Pasighat) and in Meghalaya (Shillong). They cater to urban markets within the
region, and to the extent that they can, outside the region as well. Some have benefited from
support from the KVIC, and from the DC (H). This has been in the form of loans and grants
from the KVIC/ KVIBs, and assistance for marketing from the DC (H). In the larger towns,
notably Guwahati, Silchar and Agartala, some units have graduated in scale and complexity to
micro-enterprise. They produce furniture, household and decorative items which are marketed
through exhibition sales and direct contact with retailers. Interestingly, many of these units,
particularly in the Brahmaputra valley, are owned and operated by women entrepreneurs.

55 
 
                                                            
 
 

¾ Sustainable Inputs Supply

About 50 percent of India’s bamboo resources are in the North Eastern States. There are 63
species of 20 genera in the region. This is 50 percent of India’s species and 87 percent genera.
Besides these, there are 11 exotic varieties. However as compared to China and Taiwan,
India’s productivity is one fourth to one fifth. India has a long way to go on scientific
cultivation of bamboo.

Because of NMBA initiatives a number of bamboo based factory have come up in Assam.
There are a number of agarbatti sticks manufacturing units in the cottage industry sector
already established, more are coming. The bamboo resources of the North East should
hopefully bring happiness and an environmental protection to its people and land. As per the
statistics of the Khadi and village Industries of Assam, (2002-2003) the total number of centre
working under Agarbatti type of industry is 14 with total employment of 202 and total annual
production of 93,270 Kgs and with a total value of Rs 20.52 Lakhs. Raising of production of
rolled batti should need the setting up of supply chains of inputs especially of jigat and
charcoal (in addition to bamboo sticks that are already produced in large numbers in North-
eastern states). North-eastern states producers are advantaged in that all needed resources for
making rolled battis are locally available within the state.

The government informally allows collection of jigat from the forest if it is used locally for
making masala and rolling batti as long as the masala is not sold outside Tripura. However,
jigat is produced from the bark of M. macrantha, and with common property resources, there
is danger of over-harvesting or ringing of the tree trunk which can kill the tree. Removal of
the bark needs to be done scientifically and the harvest should not exceed production.

Most of the natural Jigat trees occur in the forest which is under the jurisdiction of the forest
department. The forest divisions are administered by a Divisional Forest Officer (DFO). Most
forest divisions have organized the forest community into Joint Forest Management
Committees (JFMC) which are given access to and control of a specified forest area from
which they can collect natural resources on a sustainable basis. The CBTC-BASIX should

56 
 
                                                            
 
 
establish collaborations with DFOs and selected JFMCs in relevant forest divisions to test the
development of a more formalized relationship between JFMCs and specific SHGs or
community production hubs which provide the latter with guaranteed jigat inputs. In return,
the regular demand from the CECs would hopefully provide an incentive to the JFMCs to
manage their forest more sustainably.

For Guaranteed supply of Jigat:

Substitute for Jigat for agarbatti industry has been identified by institution like ICFRE. They
have found that substitute can be found from Cassia tora seeds .Various organisations and
Institutes were engaged for sometime on finding a substitute for Jigat, Finally the search has
borne fruits and the Forest Research Institute has been able to find a substitute for 'Jigat'
which is not at all related with any forest product, but otherwise also economically
competitive and abundantly available. The substitute developed is an agro-based biopolymer
(93-95%). Laboratory trials with the substitute indicate that the new binder is better than Jigat.
The technology for the manufacture of the substitute is simple and can easily be translated to
industrial production. It is hoped that in the near future after the transfer of technology,
impending threat for the survival of Machilus macrantha / Litsea Chinensis and pressure on
natural forests shall be overcome. This can also prove to be a good substitute for Jigat
particularly in those states where there is a restriction for jigat harvesting and trading.

Charcoal needs of the sector can be met by bamboo partially or wholly. Small drum kilns that
can be run by households using bamboo culm parts (such as the nodes and extremes) that are
not used in bamboo stick production and which could help ensure adequate charcoal supply.
A very interesting aspect is that charcoal is also gathered from home kitchens where firewood
is used. This should be organized better, and the collected charcoal or that produced in drum
kilns, ground into powder, and used in the masala. If such charcoal production is inadequate,
then it should be sourced from the JFMCs too.

The recent gregarious flowering of Melocanna baccifera, the main bamboo used for stick
production, and the inadequate attention being paid to natural regeneration, should show up in
future scarcity of the resource closer to the villages. Villagers are taking the opportunity of the
death of the growing bamboo to clear the land and convert it into agriculture. Sensitization is

57 
 
                                                            
 
 
obviously the key so that they are able to comprehend how their present actions can
jeopardize their future. This activity should be carried out in parallel with other funding, along
with which, nurseries for diverse species that have certain similar culm characteristics – such
as wall thickness, inter nodal length, etc. should be established – so that one could substitute
the other in case of acute need. Introduction of managed bamboo plantations would follow as
the next logical step in ensuring Bamboo resource security.

Another parallel activity should focus on multiplying the M. macrantha tree and establishment
of private planting of the Jigat tree.

Quality and Standards

Input materials, such as bamboo sticks, jigat and charcoal (which are combined to produce
masala paste), and rolled batti all suffer from inconsistent or low quality. These quality issues
need to be addressed individually, since lower/inconsistent quality of inputs results in a poorer
quality product. This leads to greater rejection rates and lower prices for rural producers.
Non-adherence to standards also reduces access to higher-end markets and lowers the
confidence of major brand buyers. Other issues that need resolution include separation and
breakage of masala from the core stick. CBTC-BASIX should introduce strategies to improve
quality and standards such as, improving coordination among Production Clusters and access
to processing machinery, i.e. bamboo cutting machines, pulverisers and driers.

Research and Development

The incense industry lacks significant research and development support for both existing and
new products, despite the sector´s high potential to increase incomes and generate
employment opportunities for the rural poor. Facilities for testing to ensure quality need to be
put in place, and assessment methods backed by independent national laboratories that certify
compliance to national standards. For instance, different jigat sources have various adhesive
strength, which affects the masala paste. This needs to be standardized and tested.
Green bamboo is used to produce the core sticks. Adequate drying of sticks and rolled batti is
an issue that needs attention. North East India has a long rainy season during which sticks and
rolled batti need additional drying. Households presently dry sticks using cooking stove .

58 
 
                                                            
 
 

TOOLS AND MACHINERIES USED

FOR STICK MAKING

59 
 
                                                            
 
 

Tools used for stick making in the villages are:

The tools that are most commonly used in the villages of both Tripura and Assam include:

1. Bothi da

2. Saw

Measuring board

For sorting and grading the sticks based on their lengths the collection centres use a
measuring board with different lengths marked on it. The measuring board used for measuring
the length of sticks is divided into the following divisions-7.5, 8, 8.5,9 and 9.5 inches

Study of the machines under use in the Project areas:

The machines most commonly used in a stick making unit includes

1. Cross-cutting machines,

2. Slivering and

3. Stick-making tools/machines

4. Pulveriser

5. Charcoal Making Kiln

The machines and tools analysed show variation in prices and efficiency. The analyses show
that the simple hand tools usually perform just as good as the expensive engine-driven
machines. The latter ones have several problems in handling the material efficiently without
jamming. A couple of prototypes showed promise and could be the subjects for further study
and improvement. The machines used for bamboo stick(raw stick making) particularly the

60 
 
                                                            
 
 
Polishing ones that were introduced in Tripura had not been of great success as the bamboo
of North Eastern region gets bent as the tensile strength is less

Table 10: Cost of machine used for Agarbatti (round type) stick making and their
efficiencies:

Cost of machine Capacity of the machine

Rs.2-3 lakhs 25-30kg of sticks/8hours

Rs. 5-6 lakhs 50 kg of sticks/8 hours

10 lakhs 100kg of sticks/8 hours

14 lakhs(Imported) 500kg of sticks/ 8 hours

61 
 
                                                            
 
 

ANALYSIS OF THE LABOUR COST

IN AGARBATTI MANUFACTURING UNITS

62 
 
                                                            
 
 

Agarbatti production is a labour-intensive activity, offering high employment opportunities

for rural communities. Growth in production is directly proportional to the number of people
involved in production. Rural women producers who roll batti in North eastern states work
part-time and produce much less; a producer would roll around 2 kg of batti in a day, while
working at their own pace and during their spare time from household work. These women
choose to remain part-time producers. Being subsistence oriented, cash income is essential for
these women to buy sugar, salt, medicines and other supplies that are needed for daily life but
which they cannot produce themselves. This has its own benefit - the preference for part-time
employment opens up opportunities for twice the number of women as would be otherwise
possible, were they to operate full-time. Despite the growing demand, availability of trained
workers for batti rolling is a constraint. Discussions with major agarbatti companies revealed
that the industry has a large capacity to absorb more production, but primary production –
bamboo sticks and rolled batti – is inadequate. As the labour intensiveness of the industry
prevents companies from having agarbatti workers on its rolls, they have to source rolled
batti from existing unorganized household-level production. The limitations of this operation
thus affect the industry in general. A system to train enough people to roll good quality batti,
and to organize and manage that production aspect has been indicated by the companies as a
much needed intervention. CBTC as the technology and knowledge transfer agents can come
into play at this role.

There are two stages involved in the production of Agarbatti. One stage involves the
production of non-perfumed (non-masala) Agarbatti, and the second entails the production of
perfumed (masala) Agarbatti. The costs of production can also be disaggregated by these two
stages as labour costs are significantly different in these two stages. Non-perfumed agarbatti
are generally produced at home through the family contract system and take up to 80% of the
total labour required; its share in the total production cost, however, is about 10% in preparing
raw agarbatti .The addition of perfumes is carried out in factories and takes about 20% of the
total workdays required for the production and, along with packaging, accounts for about 60%
of the production cost. Another 20% of the cost is incurred in marketing.

63 
 
                                                           
 
 

Figg 13: Relatiive income per month

h along the value
v chain
n of Agarb
batti Indusstry

Rellative incomee per month

h (Rs) along the
t value chaain of Agarbatti Industryy

Minimu
um income pe
er month Maximum
m Income per month

4
4000
3500

2
2000
1500 1500
1200 1200
750

Bamboo Agarbatti
A Hand Rolled
H d Agarbatti Productiion of Perfuming &
Sticks Pro
oduction Producction Bamboo Charcoal
C Packaging off Branded
Agarba atti

Em
mployment Scale

Aggarbatti maanufacturingg is classiified as a small-scale industryy. Although there arre

burreaucratic hurdles
h that investors have
h to go through - such,
s as thee procedurees for gettinng
liceenses and taax benefits - the low caapital requirement and simple
s techhnology thatt characterizze
thiss industry make
m it easyy to establish units in ru
ural or sem
mi-urban areaas. It is a hiighly labouur-
inteensive induustry and iss estimated to be direectly engagiing about 5500,000 people, mostlly
wom
men and children.
c T
There are also culturral and ethhnic factorrs associateed with thhe
empployment sttructure of the
t industryy. Families from the pooor and minnority comm
munities from
m
Tam
mil Nadu annd neighbouuring statess are found to be predoominantly eengaged by the industryy.
How
wever overr the years,, the emplooyment chaaracteristics of the inddustry have changed. In
I
Banngalore, whhich is consiidered the agarbatti
a cap
pital of India, more entrrepreneurs from Andhrra

6
64 
 
                                                            
 
 
Pradesh and North India have set up agarbatti businesses than the local people. Workers are
also increasingly coming from the adjoining states to replace the traditional labour from Tamil
Nadu and Karnataka. Traditional labourers – Muslim women - are gradually shifting to the
more lucrative garment industries. The packaging and processing are particularly suitable to
women and unemployed in both rural and urban areas since these provide opportunities for
labourers seeking self-employment and piece-meal work. While adult labourers earn Rs 70 -
l00/day, children earn Rs 30 to 50/day depending on the time spent and their efficiency. There
is no requirement for electrical power in the industry which considerably reduces work-
related hazards and dependency on erratic power supplies. A large number of children work
full- or part-time in the industry to supplement their family’s income. International opinion
and norms strongly discourage international trade in products manufactured using child
labour. At present, statistics are not available as to the part-time input by children versus any
exploitative situation which may exist in the industry

65 
 
                                                            
 
 

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

66 
 
                                                            
 
 

Agarbatti is a highly fragmented sector which currently has over 450 major players and 8,500
units in unorganised sector making about 50 billion incense sticks a year.

Market leaders

1. Bangalore-based NRR (owner of the Cycle brand), with some 1,800 million sticks per
annum, have a very strong market presence in the `3-in-one' market segment.
2. ITC’s Mangaldeep now sells around 1,200 million sticks per annum.

3. The annual consumer spend in agarbatti is Rs 1,000 crore, with the organised players
(numbering just 7 or 8) accounting for 25 per cent.

Major players in Agarbatti industry:

ITC:

ITC's unique Agarbatti community participation programme:

ITC is in the process of working with NGOs to roll out unperfumed agarbatti. These products
are sourced by the company's vendors who add the fragrance to the incense sticks, package
the sticks and supply the finished product to the agarbatti business. This initiative helps impart
agarbatti-rolling skills to rural women, with a buyback assurance. This, therefore, provides
invaluable livelihood opportunities to rural women. The agarbatti project with the 'Art of
Living' establishment in Bangalore has particularly taken off very well.

The quality systems and vendor management policies

The quality systems are broadly divided into two parts.

Quality checks: This is done by ITC's vendors based on set parameters developed in
accordance with consumer needs.
Quality monitoring: Samples that are drawn from the market are checked at a central
location and evaluated every month, vis-à-vis competition.

67 
 
                                                            
 
 
ITC's incense sticks business, launched as part of its strategic initiative to create multiple
drivers of growth in the FMCG sector, leverages the core strengths of ITC in marketing and
distribution, brand building, supply chain management and paperboard & packaging to offer
Indian consumers high-quality agarbattis. It has already launched brands like 'Spriha' and
'Mangaldeep' across a range of fragrances like rose, jasmine, bouquet, sandalwood, madhur,
sambrani and nagchampa. Packaged quite attractively, these brands appeal to a cross-section
of consumers at various price segments. These agarbattis are available in 'fragrance-locked'
packets. 'Fragrance-locking' is a unique concept of packaging which helps to retain the
fragrance for a longer period. ITC Ltd's Agarbatti SBU (Strategic Business Unit), sourcing
agarbattis from the cottage sector, has started working with the Andhra Pradesh forest
department on a quality improvement programme for hand-cut bamboo, a critical input for
ramping up volumes in the highly unorganised agarbatti business. ITC is participating in a
bamboo development project launched by the Tripura Government, and has also launched a
vendor development programme in Agartala, under which some 10 million sticks are being
sourced per month. The company, marketing battis under the "Mangaldeep" brand through its
five lakhs retail outlets in the country, has doubled volumes from 50 million sticks per month
last year to 100 million sticks now. ITC has eyed the bamboo potential in Andhra Pradesh was
around 25 tonnes per month, and some 1-2 tonnes of bamboo per month were being lifted for
making agarbattis. The 2006-07 targets for Tripura were 15 tonnes per month up from 2-3
tonnes in November the previous year. ITC has successfully blended corporate social
responsibility with business objectives through this 100 per cent outsourcing from the cottage
sector. Many new fragrances (or a combination) based on regional preferences are now in the
pipeline. Mangaldeep Agarbattis, according to him, now enjoys eight vendors on a national
basis, out of who three (all based in Bangalore) are ISO-9000 certified. The company now
sources all its requirements through tie-ups with Sankranti, Ananth and Jayanti Domestic
Products (all from Bangalore), Cottage Industries of Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, Prayer
Dhoop Agarbattis (New Delhi), Swastik Industries (Chandigarh), Jayanti Products (Agartala)
and Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) (mainly Coimbatore). At present,
ITC’s agarbathi brand competes with regional brands such as ‘Cycle’, ‘Padmini’ and ‘Vasu’.
To gain an edge over competitors, ITC has agarbattis catering to all the three segments. The
‘Spriha’ range, targeted at the top-end of the market, is priced at Rs 20 for 20 sticks in

68 
 
                                                            
 
 
nagachampa and gugool fragrance. Spriha is made by the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.
The company has also launched ‘Nivedan’, made by small-scale companies in Bangalore,
targeted at the middle-end of the market priced at Rs 10 for 20 sticks in sandalwood
fragrance. The lower-end ‘Ashageet’ agarbatti in jasmine and rose fragrance is priced at Rs 4
for 10 sticks and Rs 7.50 for 20 sticks. The KVIC-ITC "Mangaldeep" agarbatti project as
which acts as linkages with the cottage sector under the Rural Employment Guarantee
Programme (REGP) of the Union Government,.Avarampalayam Sarvodaya Sangh in
Coimbatore had been identified as the nodal agency to supply and monitor the agarbatti
manufacturing activities of the other identified Directly Aided Institutions and small REGP
units of KVIC which supply to ITC. The Agarbatti business recorded an impressive 28%
growth in revenues, primarily driven by increasing consumer franchise for the ‘Mangaldeep’
brand combined with improved distribution reach. ‘Mangaldeep’ is already the second largest
national brand in the industry, riding on the success of two key sub-brands, namely ‘Madhur
100’ and ‘Yantra’. ‘Yantra’, launched last year, has received wide consumer acceptance on
the strength of its unique fragrance and is expected to become a national drive brand.

Functioning of the ITC franchisee facility (Jayanti Domestic Products) at Agartala,

Tripura:
Jayanti Domestic Products have two Agarbatti productions unit in Tripura- one at RK Nagar
industrial estate at Bodhjung Nagar, in West Tripura and the other at Laduchowani. The
franchisee procures perfumes from a Chennai based company called IAF and sources Jigat
from Kolkata. The unit has the following facilities-

1. Collection of rolled Agarbatti

2. Perfuming of rolled Agarbatti

3. Packaging of perfumed Agarbatti

Jayanti Domestics Products accepts the rolled agarbatti from its regular suppliers and also
from some women entrepreneurs directly according to the guidelines and parameters set by
the ITC Company. 180 lakhs sticks are produced per month .The company has identified
about ten parameters for maintaining its quality standard .The most critical ones being along
with their tolerance limit include-

69 
 
                                                            
 
 
1. Exposed bamboo

2. Burning consistency

3. Thickness

4. Length consistency

5. Tip diameter

6. Straightness

7. Split bamboo

8. Tip length

The company sources rolled Agarbatti from approximately 30-35 villages in Tripura. The
company has given around ten parameters out of which few are critical for acceptation of the
rolled sticks. Generally the percentage of rejection is approximately 12-13%.The rejection
percentage is higher during the rainy season. There are two methods of rolling of Agarbatti-
Hand rolled and Dust rolled. Dust rolled Agarbatti is specific to ITC company where people
from ITC come and train the artisans to carry out dust rolling .Generally hand rolling of
agarbatti gives an output of 3-4kg /day/person while Dust rolling can give an output of around
15kg/ day/person .The productivity is increased up to five times by this method. Citing
constraints in sourcing of key raw materials like jigat powder (the binder for battis), which is
made from debarked (from trees) material and charcoal, the management in Jayanti says that
some 10 tonnes of jigat and 40 tonnes of charcoal per month are required now for current
level of manufacturing. Sticks are sourced internally, as Tripura accounts for over 60 per cent
of bamboo forests in the country.

This unit produces two grades of Mangaldeep Agarbatti

1. MD-10 with 10 sticks and green tip –Madhuri is the perfume used for MD 10 and is
somewhat cheap. It is procured from IFF, Chennai

70 
 
                                                            
 
 
2. MD-100 with 100 sticks and orange tip- Adaita is the perfume brought from IFF, Chennai
and is relatively costly than Madhuri.

Colouring stick tips: There are two mechanisms of colouring the stick tips

1. Colouring the tip before rolling.

2. Colouring the tip after rolling and then keep it upturned for drying before carrying out
perfuming operation.

The unit uses a sealing machine for packaging. It carries out packaging of MD-10 @ Rs. 2
and MD-100 @ Rs.15.The normal target that is set for the SHGs supplying rolled Agarbatti to
Jayanti Domestic Product was 800cfb per month (1cfb contains 900 sticks).

NR Group’s Cycle brand:

The philosophy behind it brand is “Quality backed by values”. Its flagship brand; Cycle is the
market leader in India and is exported to over 40 countries. It was the first to offer 3
fragrances in one pack, first to introduce premium Agarbatti, first to have more than thousand
consumer panels.R Foundation the charity wing of N.R.Group has been supporting several
social activities like Ranga Rao Memorial School for the Disabled ,Ranga Gnana Vinimaya
Kendra and Project Prerepana.Fragrance World is, the exclusive retail showroom of the
Mysore based NR Group located on Dhanwantri road in Mumbai to evaluate customer
preferences and usage patterns, to understand customer requirements and create customer
contact programs. It is one of its kind showrooms that have all fragrance products. With the
feedback received, they are able to create superior products and focus more towards creating
such products.

Reckitt's Haze:

This brand was introduced in the year 2000 in the markets of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra,
followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The key deliverable in its incense is its
fragrance. Haze is currently available in four variants -- sandalwood, jasmine, bouquet and
fresh wave, apart from a 4-in-1 pack. The brand is also available in aerosol spray and

71 
 
                                                            
 
 
fragrance block formats. Available at Rs 11 for a pack of 20 sticks, Haze agarbattis are
significantly higher priced in comparison to unorganised sector brands. Reckitt officials
attributed the premiumness of the brand to a distinct value-for-money proposition. Haze
agarbatti sticks, for example, come packed in resealable zip lock pouches to prevent leakage
of the fragrance. The sticks are claimed to have a burning capacity that lasts longer than
brands sold through the unorganised sector. The Haze sticks comprise the natural ingredient,
Ganga water, claim company officials. The advertising for Haze is being done by McCann-
Erickson. The advertising proposition is tailored around the `lingering feeling of freshness
that lasts through the day.

UJAS branded Agarbatti:

Udyogini is working with urban slum dwellers in Saharanpur District of UP. The project was
initiated at the end of 2004 with the support of ITC Ltd., a leading corporate. Beginning with
just 150 women in 2004, today, in Saharanpur, Udyogini is working with more than 600
women residing in the slum areas in the city. The women are organized into 60 women
enterprise groups and are involved in major microenterprise activities. They are also involved
in savings and lending operations within the group. Udyogini's work in Saharanpur is focused
around two principal microenterprises, Chunari (“Mata ki Chunaries” and “Dulhan
Chunaries”) and production of agarbattis (incense sticks).At present women working on
chunaries and agarbatti are home-based. In order to regularize production with up to the mark
quality and timely delivery along with inculcating a sense of ownership in women, Udyogini
is in the process of establishing a production and business centre to be run and managed by
the women. The Agarbatti business was initiated on a buy back arrangement with ITC for first
quality agarbattis. Second quality agarbattis are branded as UJAS and sold in the local market.

Shree Balaji Industries has established itself among the top ten incense brands in India and
the most popular brand of Orissa. They have a in-house quality system which is being
monitored continuously by quality control department. Every incense stick has to pass
through intense testing before being packed. Incense sticks are regularly inspected by quality
controllers until they are packed. The basis which makes services provided by us unique lies
in our approach where attention is paid to each and every possible aspect.

72 
 
                                                            
 
 
Table 11: Major Agarbatti manufacturing companies in India

Company name Brands Variations Remarks

Hari Darshan Sevashram Hari Darshan Export quality

pvt. Ltd,Delhi
Shrinivas Nag Champa (Available in Caters mostly the
Sugandhlaya,Bangalore Agarbatti 15 Gms, 40 domestic market
Gms, 100
Gms, 250
Gms, 500
Gms, 1 kg,
and 8 Sticks
Square
packing)
Aastha Long incense
Geet Govind Incense (20 Gms)
sticks
Natural Incense sticks (20 Gms and
50 Gms)
Nag Champa Long
Hexagonal (5
sticks
Packing)
Sandesh Agarbatti Co. Gopala incense 8 Sticks Caters to the
Square domestic markets
Packing with nominal
Master gold incense 20 Sticks export.
Hexagonal
Packing

73 
 
                                                            
 
 
Ratnamala incense 10 Sticks
Long
Hexagonal
Tulsi Sandal wood Super 6 Gift
Box
Super Sandal Super 6 Gift
Box
Shanthinikethan Incense Cones
Acharya Supreme tubes
Sri Sai Flora incense
Shree Balaji Bharat Darshan incense, Among the top 10
Indistries,Orissa Spritual Guide, Precious and most popular
Chandan, Jasmine, Indian in eastern regions
Spice & Rose Pouch
series, Sugandha Incense,
Sugandha Shringar,
Rolex Rose, Maxi
Agarbatti
NRR Group Parampara, touted as 10 per cent of
premium dhoop, priced at turnover from
Rs 15. exports .Total
Medini ,Dharti turnover is
Rs 240 crore

ITC Ltd (Agarbatti Mangaldeep , Spriha Markets Khadi

Division) Ashageet (low end Bhandars in the
segment ) country .Planning
Yantra and Madhur 100 to expand its
are sub-brands of existing number
Mangaldeep of retailers from
25,000 to two

74 
 
                                                            
 
 
million across the
country within a
year. At present,
the company’s
25,000 retailers
cater to
Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu, and
Bangalore

Abyssinia Impex ,Mumbai Premium segment : Mostly exported.

Ratnamala, Decent,
Empress, Cherish , Super
Sandal, Relax,
Fascinating India,
Surprise, Paramhans,
Success, Amber Flora

Herbal segment

Eucalyptus, Balm
mint, Patchouli,
Lemongrass, Pine,
Citronella, Juniper

Ramdev Food Products Vedam Incense Stick Archanam Regional player

Pvt. Ltd. , Ahmedabad – Mogra,
Yagyam –
Havan,
Yogam –
Dhoop,
Poojanam –

75 
 
                                                            
 
 
Saffron,
Dhyanam –
Sandal,
Chintanam –
Kasturi,
Shantam –
Rose,
Arpanam –
Camphor, and
Anusthanam–
Nag Champa

Shankar Perfumery Works, Sona Chandi Agarbatti US$5 Million -

Bangalore US$10 Million
Cinnamon Incense
Agarbatti

76 
 
                                                            
 
 

CONSUMER RESEARCH

77 
 
                                                           
 
 
Connsumer reseearch is ann essential part
p of marrket researchh particularrly becausee it gives thhe
com
mpany an oppportunity to
t provide customer
c saatisfaction inn the long ruun and mak
ke them loyaal
cusstomers to their
t brand and the com
mpany as a whole. Consumer of agarbatti in
nterviewed in
i
the urban areas of the preesent study area gave us
u a brief ouutline aboutt the deman
nd patterns of
o
agaarbatti, few of the finndings are as follows.. A number of questiions were asked
a to thhe
connsumers reggarding theeir tastes annd preferen
nces, preferrence for m
monthly pu
urchase from
m
diffferent stores and shopss, factors innfluencing purchase
p deecision of aagarbatti, paarameters foor
disllike of a braand, etc.

Figg 14: Percen

ntage of moonthly conssumption from
f differeent purchaase points

Purch
hase pointss for Agarrbatti

Teemple Shops
11%
Retail chains
244%
Mom & Pop sto
M ores
65%

Outt of 60 consumers survveyed in Tiinsukia and Guwahati, 65% of thee total consumers prefe
fer
to purchase
p aggarbatti from
m the mom and pop sto
ores, 24 % of
o the consuumers preferr to purchasse
agaarbatti from
m retail chains and onnly 11% preefer to purcchase from
m temple sh
hops. Sale of
o
Agaarbatti from
m shops neaar the tempple generally
y increases at the timee of some puja.
p So, thhe
com
mpany shouuld target thhe mom andd pop stores for the saale of the m
maximum am
mount of thhe
prooduct producced. Supplyy of Agarbaatti should be
b increasedd in the tem
mple stores prior
p to som
me

7
78 
 
                                                            
 
 
puja and auspicious occasions like New year, regional festivals, etc and those days when
footsteps in the temple increases.

Fig 15:Factors influencing purchase decision

packaging
Shoopkeeper  5%
influence
10%
advertisement
2%
Freebies
1%
brand preference
4% Fragrance
Quantity 47%
6%

Quality
6%
Price
6%
Availability
13%

Before product development, manufacture, branding packaging and launch in the market, the
following factors should be taken into account. The parameters that are given most
importance while making purchase decision by the consumers includes-fragrance, availability,
shop keepers influence, brand preference, packaging, advertisement, freebies, quality,
quantity and price .Out of 60 consumers surveyed in Tinsukia and Guwahati, 47 % of the total
consumers purchase agarbatti giving maximum preference to the fragrance, 13% of the
consumers give importance to availability, 10% people purchase agarbatti based on
shopkeepers influence. Besides this consumers gave different weightages to different factors
as shown in the figure above.

79 
 
                                                            
 
 

Table 12: Consumers preferences

Statement % of respondents

Prefer to buy an Agarbatti which you had 15

tried earlier

Prefer to try out a new fragrance of 25

Agarbatti

Prefer to buy the least cost Agarbatti with 17

good fragrance.

Ready to pay premium price for herbal 4

Agarbatti

Prefer Agarbatti having good fragrance and 25

mosquito repellent property

Prefer to buy Agarbatti as a room freshner 14

From the above it can very well be seen that the demand for multi-purpose agarbatti is there
and therefore CBTC-BASIX should look for marketing multipurpose agarbatti.

80 
 
                                                           
 
 

Fig 16
6:Cause of diislike for a particular braand of Agarb
batti

Fragrance not 
as promised Burn
nt out easily
35% 24%

Compoun nds 
fell off 
Non uuniform  9%
stticks
3
32%

Thee most disliiked parameeters as highhlighted by different coonsumers innclude- frag

grance not as
a
proomised, nonn-uniform stticks, masalla falling offf the stickss easily, burrn out easily
y, etc. Thesse
facttors are verry well keppt in mind by all the leading plaayers and thherefore CB
BTC-BASIX
X
shoould ensure that the aboove factors for
f dislike doesn’t
d charracterize in their brand
d of agarbattti.
Thiis can be doone by intennsive qualityy check befo
ore launch of
o its brand..

8
81 
 
                                                           
 
 

Agarb
batti stick maker’s
m opiinion

Dem
mand of Aggarbatti stickks and pricee satisfactio
on as perceivved by the llocal stick making
m units
artiisan and tradders in Assaam and Trippura includees the follow
wing resultss.

Fig 17
7:Price satisfaction

Not Satisfiied
18%

Satissfied
82
2%

Thee village arttisans who were making raw battti in the villlages of Trripura were enquired by
b
the authors thhat whether they were satisfied with
w the priice that weere being paid
p for theeir
Raw
wbatti. Alm
most 82% of
o the respoondent responded in thhe positive while only
y 16 % werre
unssatisfied.Hoowever,the respondents
r s mentioned
d that they were
w happy because the traders haad
incrreased Re 1 /Kg of agaarbatti stickk compared to the prevvious year aand this wass because thhe
dem
mand had allso increased .

8
82 
 
                                                           
 
 

Fig 18:Deemand treend for Ag

garbatti stiicks over the
t last 5 years
y

main stagnantt
has rem
6%

has decreased
13%

has increeased
81%
%

Thee respondennts of the prresent surveey were alsso asked aboout their peerception off the demannd
for agarbatti. Most
M of theese responddents were in the busiiness since more than 5 years annd
therrefore a prreliminary demand
d treend estimatee can be very
v well innferred from
m the abovve
respponse.

8
83 
 
                                                            
 
 

CBTC-BASIX LIVELIHOOD ENHANCEMENT

MODEL

84 
 
                                                            
 
 

CBTC-BASIX Livelihood Enhancement Model

The proposed CBTC-BASIX model seeks to increase the economic benefits derived by poor
rural women producers from the incense (agarbatti) value chain within the context of a
sustainable resource base.It will also help in establishing an institutional framework for
women rural producers to increase production volumes, thus increasing their final share of
retail revenue from the market. Areas of focus include:

1. Train more women producers:

The CBTC-BASIX duo should develop and validate practices to build the capacity of women
producers to increase production volumes. To increase production capacity, the value chain’s
workforce should be expanded by incorporating new poor rural women producers into
different steps in the value chain. New women producers should be trained in techniques on
slivering bamboo, hand rolling, colouring, perfuming, scenting and packaging.

2. Develop a rural marketing network based on community production hubs:

This activity should formalize existing links between CEC entrepreneurs and CBTC-BASIX.
In addition, the number of CECs should also be expanded to include new women participants.
Initially, the CECs should act as suppliers to CBTC-BASIX, which should operate as the
main marketing center. In the future, it is anticipated that successful CECs should expand and
develop their own marketing networks. This CEC expansion should be supported by the
project. Eventually, this should result in a number of villages servicing multiple marketing
networks, thus increasing livelihood opportunities.

3. Develop a model for contractualisation:

CBTC-BASIX should develop contracts between itself and producer partners.

85 
 
                                                            
 
 
To organise and enable poor rural women to sustainably produce and/or procure processed
bamboo, jiggat , charcoal and other inputs in the required quantities CBTC-BASIX can adopt
the following strategies.

Develop JFMC input supply chains and rolled agarbatti producers; training on
sustainable harvesting:

To increase outputs and long term production, availability of bamboo and other natural
resource inputs, such as charcoal powder and jigat, must be secured. In order to achieve this
goal, activities should mainly focus around strengthening the relationship between Joint
Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) and women producers, as well as, community
capacity building. Input supply chains with JFMCs for supply of jigat and charcoal powder
should be established to procure the necessary inputs for agarbatti production. Main activities
should include developing a new processing infrastructure with JFMCs which enable small
producers to access charcoal and jigat. This should involve establishing processing facilities
and distribution networks.

Develop a model for charcoal production units within JFMCs and household level:

Model drum charcoal production units should be set up and linked with CECs and individual
households. The existing system of collecting the charcoal produced during home-cooking
using firewood should be studied and organised better since it provides an economic
opportunity for poor rural women without additional investment. The study should include the
possible provision of firewood supplies, the use of split bamboo as firewood, and the local
development of firewood resources.

This model can be worked out properly and bamboo can be sustainably used in the Agarbatti
industry to:

• Establish sustainable organizations of the poor and networked them for continuing
economic activities.
• Diversify sources of household income, particularly for women and the landless.
• Increase control and access over means of production and produce by the communities
• Improve capacities of local governance institutions and community-based groups.

86 
 
                                                            
 
 
• Increase the participation of people in local governance institutions’ activities and
resource mobilization.
• Improve cash flow and cash income availability through establishing market linkages
and market-driven production.
• Launch advocacy efforts and develop pressure groups that promote the formulation of
policies, which benefit the livelihoods of the rural poor

87 
 
                                                            
 
 

Fig 19: CBTC-BASIX LIVELIHOOD ENHANCEMENT MODEL

Individual bamboo 
Jigat Bark Harvesters 
Joint Forest 
collectors and private 
growers.   belonging to JFMC  Management 
Committee (JFMC), 
Primary  under the supervision 
processors  of the DFO
producing slivers  Productions Cluster of 
SHG.Each SHG consist of  Charcoal Powder 
and sticks 
around 10 women rollers  collected by women 
who are also able to sliver  from household ash 
bamboo and prepare own  produced from fires or 
masala.  Drum kilns distributed 

North East 
CBTC‐BASIX marketing      
Agarbatti 
wing 
market 
TRADERS 

 
Rural 
women  SOUTH INDIA Cos   
rollers  engaged in perfuming, 
packaging etc  All India agarbatti 
market 

88 
 
                                                            
 
 

Fig: 20: CBTC-BASIX AGARBATTI COOPERATIVE MODEL

MARKET 

SALES  STATE AGARBATTI FEDERATION  SALES 

REVENUE  REVENUE
     AGARBATTI 

DISTRICT AGARBATTI UNION 

DIVIDEND   ADDITIONAL INPUT OTHER

PRICE SUPPORT BUSINESS
ON DIFFERENCES FOR
BONUS INSURANCE SUPPORT
AGARBATTI
SHARE MFG
AGARBATTI

MONEY  MONEY

VILLAGE AGARBATTI COOPERATIVE 
SOCIETIES 

                                     MEMBER PRODUCERS 

89 
 
                                                            
 
 

BUSINESS STRATEGIES FOR CBTC-BASIX

90 
 
                                                            
 
 

CBTC-BASICs should work in an integrated way on the following aspects -

Identifying the target group:

The project should primarily target poor home-based rural women producers living below the
poverty line. A minimum of 2000 poor rural women should be targeted in a state. The
following criterias should be considered for selecting women beneficiary:

1. They should live within the project area,

2. They should live below the poverty line,

3. They should have expressed willingness to enter the programme.

Important roles that can be played by CBTC-BASIX includes

¾ Improving credit needs of women entrepreneurs

Traditionally, women producers have been restricted to primary processing of bamboo culms,
i.e. producing slivers (incense stick core), which is a very low value activity (about 2% of the
final value). Intervention of some NGOs is required to encourage women entrepreneurs for
taking up rolling of the sticks with masala. This can give them significantly higher returns.
Credit should also be facilitated for investing in various tools that would improve product
quality and quantity (bamboo cutters, powder pulverisers, etc).

In addition, as production is often home-based, individual women are often unable to attract
traders. Women that do sell to traders are unable to command high prices due to low volume
and also low quality .Furthermore, the overall low volume of production prevents private
companies from establishing their scenting, packaging and branding operations in North East.
Currently, rural households buy raw Agarbatti sticks and rolling is done in North -East,
shipped to South India for scenting, packaging of established brands, and then shipped back
and sold in Tripura as a much higher price. If this reverse transportation can be stopped by
carrying out the perfuming, packaging and branding in North-east India itself this can turn out

91 
 
                                                            
 
 
to be even profitable venture. At present, unscented rolled sticks are transported to the South
India, incurring high transportation costs and taxes.

Improving volumes requires credit, which is currently not available to the women
participating in the business or to NGOs as well as self-help groups that sources and provides
inputs. Currently, the limited credit from grants or private funds does not allow for purchase
of larger volumes of inputs at lower prices in bulk. Part of the available credit also gets locked
up into sales credit to retailers and is not available for enhancing production. Intervention of
BASIX with its financial products will prove very successful in this model. Developing the
means for providing rural enterprises with greater access to financial services and working
credit should be the key.

¾ Formation of community production hubs

CBTC –BASIX should facilitate the association of women producers into Self Help Groups
(SHGs). These groups should be are recognized by the government and banks, with the latter
providing opportunities for financing. Extension and technological agents like CBTC should
come into this business and with the training and “esteemed” status they had as extension
agents and experience in organization and coordination, they should join hands with different
SHGs. Such alliances can lead to the creation of the Community Production Hubs (CPHs),
with some entrepreneurial producers becoming entrepreneurs and coordinating a hub of
home-based microenterprises. These CPHs will be free to supply to CBTC-BASIX or directly
to other buyers or even the market. However, on supply to CBTC-BASIX, they will
experience low risks and they will receive transparent and timely payments. In addition,
increasing profits from greater value addition activities will enable CBTC-BASIX to increase
payment rates on each kilo of rolled batti.

¾ Institutionalizing and formalizing the systems:

Most bamboo stick production is done through an informal contract system, with individual
producers supplying to individual traders. This gave traders “control” over their clutch of
unorganized bamboo stick producers. Traders also formed a cartel that maintained low
remuneration to workers. There are two such associations of traders in Kumarghat, Tripura.

92 
 
                                                            
 
 
CBTC-BASIX can change this; it can provide formality in the system like has been done by
TRIBAC. TRIBAC has put in place a large number of village extension agents sourced from
the very villages they serviced on the principle that peer pressure from the village would push
them to perform. It provided them training in batti rolling and they in turn organized training
in villages supported by TRIBAC specialists. It enabled women to work in TRIBAC premises
if they wished and be linked to it directly. It encouraged them to undertake home-based
production. CBTC with its vast resource of finance, technical manpower, and expertise in
bamboo products in collaboration with BASIX which has a long experience in livelihood
sector and meeting credit need can be the befitting answer to the question of rural poverty
prevalent in north eastern States.

To establish institutional mechanisms to facilitate access to credit by poor rural women

producers the following points can be taken into account:

1. Use the setup of microfinance institution (MFI) :

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) can be approached for facilitating
sufficient credit needs of the MFI besides some grants for capacity building. The MFI should
initially provide funding through CBTC-BASIX to most Community production hubs. As it
gains experience, lending should be broadened to include other units in the agarbatti sector.

2. Training and handholding of Community production centres to access, utilise and repay
credit:

Training should be provided to all eligible Community production hubs on accessing, utilising
and repaying credit. Regular analysis should be conducted to determine the cash needs of the
Community production hubs.

93 
 
                                                            
 
 
Critical Issues and Upgrading Strategies which should be covered in CBTC-BASIX
business model

Competition in Urban/Export Markets and Transportation Costs

The introduction and popularization of the higher value-added rolled battis by CBTC-BASIX
will prove to be useful, given that the volumes of this intermediate product have been rising
rapidly. Yet, much potential income is lost due to the high transportation cost that is
traditionally done by road, using trucks with a loading capacity of around 10 tons. This has an
intrinsic advantage in that a truck could go directly from a consolidator in North East India to
a major manufacturer of finished agarbattis in South India. The move from bamboo sticks
supply to rolled batti supply has a shipping packaging issue that need to be addressed.
Currently, shipping of bamboo sticks is done in jute gunny sacks. Bundles of sticks are loaded
into the sacks that are stitched and loaded in the truck. Handling is rough; sacks are thrown.
While this does not affect bamboo sticks, rolled battis suffer breakage of the dried masala
rolled on to the stick and/or its separation from the bamboo stick on which it is rolled on to.

An alternative transportation option is to ship rolled battis by train (after resolving the
packaging issue). However, the volume of the covered railway wagons is quite large. If
CBTC-BASIX sources the agarbatti from Tripura then a depot is needed in Guwahati to
consolidate shipments brought by truck from Tripura. This should also enable accessing the
market-place in Guwahati from where smaller agents source their supplies.

A third possibility is to enter into scenting accompanied by high end packaging and branding.
At present, rural producers have limited knowledge and experience of modern business
practices and marketing strategies. Therefore, their products often fail to meet the
requirements of high-end national and international markets, which have higher quality and
quantity standards than those of traditional local markets. While production of scented
agarbattis for the local market should be initiated in a small way with local brands by CBTC-
BASIX, development of packaging and brand building has to be pursued and upgraded to
cater to the requirements of higher end urban and even export markets.

94 
 
                                                            
 
 
Many micro and small enterprises involved in agarbatti making are being squeezed out of the
market, especially in South India. One major reason for this is the lack of a formal marketing
system, including market and institutional support to enable rural producers to develop direct
market linkages with regional and national suppliers. Proper and timely market information is
not available to rural producers and they have no financial means to conduct market surveys
to identify consumer preferences. A for-profit marketing company needs to be established to
overcome constraints due to operational and financial constraints of the non-profit nature of
different NGOs working in this sector. This should be able to access higher lines of credit
available to SMEs, and also set up and manage the proposed Guwahati depot and later
distribution depots closer to major buyers and markets. The higher credit availability and end-
to-end depots should enable moving from FOB to CIF which should enable a greater share of
value added derived from financing.

To organise and enable poor rural women to sustainably produce and/or procure processed
bamboo, jigat and charcoal inputs in required quantities

1. Develop more CPHs (entreprenuership development, empowerment): The number of

production clusters should be raised by increasing the number of Community Production
Hubs (CPHs). In order to achieve this, promising and enterprising primary producers should
be given business training and provided handholding services and access to inputs and credit.

2. Develop depots with Community Prodcution Hubs (CPH) for inputs distribution and
collection of rolled incense sticks with payment system:

Depots for the hand-rolled incense sticks should be created at the CPHs to ensure efficient
collection and distribution.

3. Map local resources through PRA /PEEL methods for utilization of alternative raw
materials in agarbatti:
To support resource base development activities, participatory experience and experience
through learning (PEEL) methods should be employed to assess the use of alternative raw
materials in conjunction with currently used inputs, charcoal powder and jigat, to reduce

95 
 
                                                            
 
 
pressure on the existing resource base. The local availability of these alternative raw materials
and/or substitutes should be mapped and their quality assessed.
4. Develop a model for private plantations of jiggat and bamboo:

Rural producers should be trained on how to cultivate and harvest bamboo using sustainable
methods. This should also include training communities to use sustainable tree bark
harvesting techniques. Importantly, the project should focus on developing a model for
ensuring a long term sustainable resource base for jigat, which is largely supplied from
outside of North eastern states, by establishing private plantations in the region itself.

5. Develop JFMC input supply chains and rolled agarbatti producers; training on sustainable
harvesting:

To increase outputs and long term production, availability of bamboo and other natural
resource inputs, such as charcoal powder and jigat, must be secured. The project should
devise management and control mechanisms to ensure rural women producers independently
and sustainably produce and, or, procure processed bamboo, jiggat and charcoal inputs in
required quantities within the context of environmentally sustainable practices. In order to
achieve this goal, activities should mainly focus around strengthening the relationship
between Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) and women producers, as well as,
community capacity building. Input supply chains with JFMCs for supply of jigat and
charcoal powder should be established to procure the necessary inputs for agarbatti
production. Main activities should include developing a new processing infrastructure with
JFMCs which enable small producers to access charcoal and jigat. This should involve
establishing processing facilities and distribution networks.

6. Develop a model for charcoal production units within JFMCs and household level: Model
drum charcoal production units should be set up and linked with CPHs and individual
households. The existing system of collecting the charcoal produced during home-cooking
using firewood should be studied and organised better since it provides an economic
opportunity for poor rural women without additional investment. The study should include the
possible provision of firewood supplies, the use of split bamboo as firewood, and the local
development of firewood resources.

96 
 
                                                            
 
 
Marketing strategies and institutional linkages:

To develop marketing strategies and establish institutional arrangements including marketing

linkages with major private buyers, improve retail and shipping packaging, and
enhance/develop brand identities, for deriving greater market share in local, regional and
national markets outside North Eastern Region the following points can be considered by
CBTC-BASIX.

1. Set up for-profit marketing company: A for-profit company should be established. This

should access larger credit lines from its parent company BASIX. The technological
intervention and extension wing acan be very well be controlled by CBTC.

2. Develop a marketing strategy:A marketing strategy should be developed backed by market

surveys. In order to expand the market reach and access of rural small producers of agarbatti,
the project should conduct market studies to identify the changing trends and consumer
preferences. The market study should include activities, such as surveys and questionnaires.
Other data should be obtained from review of previous agarbatti marketing literature. The
project should also monitor changes in both the national and international agarbatti markets.
Based on this input, CBTC-BASIX staff should provide rural small producers with market
intelligence services. This should enable rural communities to adopt production and
marketing strategies, which best reflect current market trends.

3. Establish market distribution depot: A consolidation cum distribution depot should be

established in Guwahati, Assam. As experience is gained, such depots should also be
established close to major buyers such as Bangalore and Mysore which should take place at
the same time as movement from FOB to CIF.

4. Establish contractual linkages with private companies/fairtrade shops:Draft contracts

should be developed and put in place between Production Clusters and private companies
(buyers), and CBTC-BASIX marketing company and private companies (buyers). The
marketing company should also develop model contracts with fairtrade shops.

97 
 
                                                            
 
 
5. Mapping of competing value chains; based on comparative advantages, develop
competitive strategies:This should be done in tandem with the marketing study/strategy
development, and should be periodically monitored and updated.

6. Develop shipping packaging (as compared to current gunny bags used): Appropriate
packaging for shipping should be developed for long-distance transportation of rolled
agarbatties that reduces or eliminates damage to the masala.

7. Enhance and develop brand identity: The brand identity and awareness can be developed
with inputs from different brand development firms and assistance from INBAR’s Global
Marketing Initiative (GMI) if CBTC-BASIX can approach for the same.

8. Study alternative transportation means, determine steps to be taken:

A comparative financial analysis of various transportation means, including location of

logistical arrangements such as depots etc should be undertaken. In particular, rail transport
should be focussed on. Given that a metre-guage railway is operating from Kumarghat in
northern Tripura, but transhipment to the broad-guage railway should be needed at Silchar or
Guwahati in Assam, evaluation of the logistic plan and shipping packaging should be made to
arrive at the most competitive arrangement. A trucking system that transports from collection
centres/CECs/TRIBAC Gandhigram to the metre-guage railhead or even directly to the broad-
guage railhead with an initial investment in hiring/owning one dedicated truck and later more
as needed should also be evaluated.

The raw materials for the unit should be procured from the Self Help Groups/Joint Forest
Management Committee/ Producer groups. The packaging and scenting materials should be
collected from Kolkata. We believe that there are sufficient immediate opportunities for the
establishment of Agarbatti manufacturing clusters in Assam and Tripura and at the North East
Regional level in order to establish and flourish the National Bamboo Mission in its entirety.

The whole of Tripura and Assam, we recommend that the initial implementation be
completed on a more pragmatic, project–by-project basis with a strong provincial focus.
Initially, this work should be co-ordinated through the district wise programme and local
partners.

98 
 
                                                            
 
 
A distinct state programme should be established when the scale and momentum warrants it.
To reduce complexity and management bottlenecks, the core programme should not seek to
manage the funding and delivery of all the activities needed, but act in a co-ordination and
facilitation role between donors, governments and other sector participants. At both a regional
and state level, some activities should be managed and funded through the core programme,
while others should be implemented by other organisations that are broadly aligned to the
overall framework for the development of the sector.

Future Perspective of the CBTC-BASIX Agarbatti producer:

The incentives of the CBTC-BASIX Model also helps return an increased productivity from
the producers. The same aspect of the human nature of acquiring more wealth and thus a
stable future being the primary motivating factor for our producers to deliver optimum
productivity. The sense of pride as the makers of a top global brand of agarbatti adds on to
their motivation. Producers will be aware that optimum productivity along with consistent
quality should result in more business and thus a bigger Producers Fund. As a result, our
producers will produce consistent quality at optimum productivity, with a very good work
culture.

Business strategies of the CBTC-BASIX brand of agarbatti:

As far as the end consumer is concerned, CBTC-BASIX incense sticks should offer an
excellent deal in terms of value for money and quality of fragrance. Each agarbatti should
burn for at least 30-35 minutes and quality tested after meeting specified parameters set to
fulfil customer’s need. All the price gaps available in the market should be filled up. Agarbatti
are low involvement products whose purchases are often impulsive. A customer makes
purchase of agarbatti based on attributes like-impressive packaging, fragrance, availability or
price.

99 
 
                                                            
 
 
For a brand to be successful four things are important:

Product: The product should have all the attributes that are considered to be of worth to the
consumer.
Price: Value based pricing can be used. Continuous customer value analysis of the product
will help us to determine the relative worth of our brand or product in relation to the
competitors and thus help us price the product according to the value perceived by the
customer. All the price gaps available in the market should be filled up. In this case the
strategy followed by ITC can be adopted. Agarbatti packets of various price ranges should be
made available so that it can cater to the markets of all the three consumer segments- high,
medium and low. There should also be a premium end product developed exclusively for the
export markets and big retail chains.
Place: The product should be made readily available right from the kirana stores to the big
malls and retail chains.
Promotion: Launching the product initially in a big way will help in brand awareness
generation. The impact of the brand launch through advertisement should be such that the
customers are able to recollect the brand at any point of time when he goes to purchase
agarbatti. The CBTC-BASIX can tie-up with Sify/Yahoo/Gmail to sell its agarbattis online.
More than selling online, the idea should be to reach the web subscriber base and announce its
arrival.

Segmentation of brands:

The company can segment its market into three major parts:

1. Production of premium agarbatti brands with an herbal touch for international markets.
This can attract those segments of people who are interested in social well being through
community based approach for sustainable development in the developing countries.

2. Production of Agarbatti for high, middle and low end segments of the society.

3. Producing mosquito repellent agarbatti and look out for possible sale to the government
schemes such as the National Health Mission for malaria control.

100 
 
                                                            
 
 
Since the price of Agarbatti is less, there is little scope for brand loyalty for this type of
product .Under product come product attributes and benefits. We have to see whether the
product is satisfying consumer’s requirements. If this is not done then the product features
need to be modified to suit the consumer’s requirements. Having done so will help us to at
least fulfil the consumer’s need if not the loyalty. Providing consistent quality to the consumer
is the trick of trade in Agarbatti business. Price include whether the price fixed for the product
is according to perceived price by the customer or it is more or less. If the difference is large
then this has to be reduced. In our case since, most of the consumers of Agarbatti (around
62%) are small and marginal so price plays an important role in determining purchase
behaviour. Place focuses on availability of the product. Whether the product is available
conveniently to the customers or not is also a concern that needs to be taken into
consideration.. The CBTC-BAISIX can very well be marketed in big trade fairs initially and
among the community of its partner producers. Promotion is also known as communication
means communication of features of the product to the would-be-customers. The brand has to
acquire mind space of consumer of Agarbatti. The brand awareness can be increased by
organising or promoting consumer panels where the benefits of using the particular brand will
be discussed. The main contact point of the consumer of Agarbatti with the company is the
retail stores. The dealers or retailers should push the product more by telling its features to the
consumer of Agarbatti. The consumer of Agarbatti meeting can be best in this case, since
large number of people can be addressed by these. In these meetings consumer of Agarbatti
should be given pamphlets where the details of the product corporate social responsibility
initiative should be highlighted and how the consumers can be a partner to this social
marketing. Besides, these should focus the CBTC-BASIX Agarbattis benefits over the other
products. Since there also exists bulk purchasers the product should also be available to them
in large containers and the size of each individual packet should be increased as there are
chances of packets being stolen during transit from factory to place of sale.
No strategy will work unless there is proper communication. Unless it is done, product cannot
be made popular. The need of the hour is to organize consumer of Agarbatti meetings to
promote the product effectively. The other ways of increasing brand awareness are
advertising. The media which can be used are newspaper and radio. The ads should make
consumer of Agarbatti aware about the benefits of the product. Initially, the consumer of

101 
 
                                                            
 
 
Agarbatti should be given some free trial to use the product after which feedback should be
generated to further refine it. CBTC-BASIX model prioritizes a baser aspect of human nature
(acquiring wealth) while incorporating a finer aspect of human nature (charity). The success
of this business depends upon the co-operation and sincerity of the trading partners.

In the case of Agarbatti the brand push dominates the pull. Most of the consumer of Agarbatti
make sub contracted decisions. They follow the advice of the retailer. The company should
instruct the dealers/retailer to inform consumer of Agarbatti about the special features of the
product. Some consumer of Agarbatti are hesitant to use the product, they should be
convinced to give product a trial which will surely lead to brand acceptability. The Agarbatti
have experience attribute. It means we cannot determine the quality of an Agarbatti packet
unless we use it. When we experience the performance of the product then only we are
satisfied or unsatisfied with the product. The satisfaction result in continuous use of the
product and gradually credence develops and the user becomes loyal customer of the product.
We have to develop this credence. All the efforts should be directed towards this only. If this
credence is broken in the future then we have to again bring the customer to the attribute level
i.e. the benefits of the product. It is continuous process.

Tie- up with Exim Bank for promotion of agarbattis in the overseas markets:

CBTC-BASIX can tie up with Exim Bank for providing export marketing services to leverage
the Bank’s overseas presence to promote agarbatti with buyers, importers and distributors
abroad. The Bank can:
(a) Help locate business partners for CBTC-BASIX brand of Agarbatti
(b) ldentify customers for CBTC-BASIX products directly or through its associates and
initiate negotiations with them while CBTC-BASIX will finalise the deal and ensure
supplies and deliveries.
The Export Marketing Service offered by Exim Bank can supplement CBTC-BASIX’s efforts
to expand export markets. CBTC-BASIX partnership with Exim Bank will help make quality
agarbattis available to consumers in other parts of the world. In the process, the cottage and
small sectors which make the agarbattis for CBTC-BASIX be greatly benefited.

102 
 
                                                            
 
 
Herbal bio-pesticide and mosquito repellent Agarbatti:

The Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, has already developed a
herbal formulation for repelling mosquitoes and providing fragrance at the same time. The
formulation can be directly used without any mixture in the preparation of agarbattis,
dhoopbattis, lotion, spray and floor emulsion. The Government has already chalked out a
strategy to commercialize these products for mass production and consumption

Geneva-based International Fragrance Association (IFRA) has put out a negative list of as
many as 30 chemicals, which should not be used in any sort of fragrance, and the CBTC-
BASIX should strictly following this code. This is necessary, especially if we have to look at
agarbatti exports seriously, as international buyers are sticklers for such norms.

The proposed model on the incense stick value chain has the potential to play a pivotal role in
benefiting large numbers of poor rural women and enabling them to derive a larger value
share, while ensuring that this large sector with an extensive production system does so in an
environmentally benign manner. The main benefits to women producers should include,
increasing production volumes, sustainable production of inputs, improving quality and
conforming to standards, and developing an enabling policy environment.

The model would also upgrade activities of women currently working in the CBTC-BASIX
model. For example, women slivering bamboo should also be trained to prepare masala paste,
thus increasing their annual income. Furthermore, women outside the CBTC-BASIX model,
or those who are currently unemployed, should also be provided with training in value adding
activities, such as Agarbatti rolling. These new women should increase the production
volume.
CBTC-BASIX should gradually established marketing linkages with companies operating in
the North Eastern States. However, a significant amount of CBTC-BASIX sales should be
targeted by backward marketing into local producer communities. Links to companies and
markets should be promoted through developing higher quality and standards of production,

103 
 
                                                            
 
 
along with higher volumes. Bamboo sliver dimensions should be standardized, and improved
masala developed.
Contract models developed should help formalize the sector. The mobile phone network
should help coordinate production, logistics and enhance sales by improving market
knowledge and coordinated transportation of raw materials and goods. In addition, the project
should develop community enterprise clusters, which should enhance production and
competitiveness.

Sensory Branding:

Sensory branding can be applied to any of the business - service or FMCG sector particularly
agarbatti. The different senses that can be used in FMCG are:

1. Sound: Here we can quote an example by Martin Lindstorm of Coke. According to him,
whenever a user opens the website of Coca Cola - a sound of Fizz while opening coke should
be there. With that as these days people go to hypermarkets and buy in bulk, so they spend lot
of time there. So the experience out there is important. And the right music there can really
help. Also these big FMCG giants occupy one section for their respective projects. So they
can utilize the space.

2. Sight: There are different dimensions here. First is the packaging which is normally said the
5th P of marketing. You know after HLL getting a tough competition from Regional players
in India, because of packaging, started focusing a lot in this area. Looks definitely matter.
Other thing is retail displays/ merchandising. If the products are placed at the eye level, there
is a high chance of consumers to buy them.

3. Smell: As mentioned in point 1, with music, aroma of different products according to the
company or the product categories can also be introduced. Then in case of Agarbattis, soaps,
perfumes, deodorant, toothpaste, smell plays a major role.

4. Taste: It is more of a product attribute and is considered to be a tangible. Obviously Nestle

Maggi Noodles should taste which will force buyers to refill their empty stock next time they
visit retail.

104 
 
                                                            
 
 
5. Touch: There are some products like class books like ITC's Classmate for which the quality
of the paper is very important.

BASIX-CBTC should always keep in mind some of the above while branding its agarbatti.

Other Recommendations
1. The agarbatti workers of North eastern states should be covered under a piece-rate
Minimum Wage Legislation, which should be implemented throughout the region.
2. A census of agarbatti workers should be carried out and each worker should be given an
identity card because they are neither registered nor counted anywhere at present.
3. They should be covered by the Provident Fund Act. They should get privilege leave and a
bonus every year.
4. They should get the facilities of social security schemes like insurance, maternity benefit,
scholarship, housing, crèches, dispensaries etc.
5 A cess should be charged on agarbatti and from that cess fund, workers’ welfare schemes
should be provided. The management of this fund should be administered by a Tripartite
Board involving workers’ representations.
6. Since their home is their work place, they should be provided with loans and subsidies to
improve their housing.
7. They should be provided with better working tools including gloves, aprons and masks.
8. There should be special educational schemes to reduce child labour within the agarbatti
industry.

105 
 
 Annexure I

Case study on TRIBAC, Agartala

Tripura Bamboo and Cane Development Centre (TRIBAC) is an autonomous, community-

based non-profit organization conceptualized and initiated by INBAR( International
Network for Bamboo and Rattan), which has given special emphasis on increasing
Livelihood Opportunities and Socio-Economic Development using Bamboo through a
Community-based Industrial Approach. TRIBAC is working in Tripura to promote Cluster
based sustainable Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development.TRIBAC has also
initiated to produce own branded hand rolled scented agarbatti through developing SHG
marketing capacity. At Gandhigram Crafts Processing Centre, the finished scented agarbatti
is prepared and marketed locally under the brand names of Neermahal, Rangamati and
Longtrai. TRIBAC is also producing mosquito herbal batti through community SHGs
members.

TRIBAC has focused on micro finance need of the artisans and MSE as working capital.
Keeping in view this need the TRIBAC suggests that:

a. Micro Finance Institute has to be invited for facilitating the artisans like
BANDHAN, which is a Kolkata based MFI.
b. SRIMA Grameen Bank could be promoted.
c. NABARD & RGVN can also support the funding to any agency.
                                                            
 
 

Table 13: Income per month for the different TRIBAC Clusters
S.No. Activity Income (Rs.) P.M. Remarks
01. Bamboo Agarbatti Sticks Rs. 1200.00 to Maximum women involvement
Production 1500.00 and without any initial
investment requirement. 100%
buy back market guarantee and
365 days employment.
02. Hand Rolled Agarbatti Rs. 750.00 to Maximum women involvement
Production Rs.1200.00 and without any initial
investment requirement. 100%
buy back market guarantee and
365 days employment.
03. Production of Bamboo Rs. 1500.00 to Male also involved
Charcoal Rs.2000.00
04. Perfuming & Packaging Rs.3500.00 to Women are involved in piece-
of Branded Agarbatti Rs.4000.00 meal basis.

The annual production at TRIBAC in 2002 was estimated at 60 billion sticks. With a CAGR
of 20%, production now could be expected to be around 100 billion sticks. A kilo of rolled
batti can have from 2000-4000 sticks.
In-store Advertising in supermarkets/hypermarkets: In store advertising can be done by
including ads on shopping cards, cart straps, aisles and shelves as well as promotion options
as in-store demonstration and life sampling.

  107
 Annexure II

ADDRESSES OF RAW MATERIALS SUPPLIERS:

1 M/s Ravi Flour Mills & Industries 339 Bapujinagar,Mysore Road,

Bangalore – 2
2 M/s H.P. Nanjudiah Setty & Sons 62 Gundopath Street, Bangalore – 53
3 M/s Ramachandra Pulverisers & IV Main Road, New Tharagpupet
Industries Bagalore-2 4.
4 M/s Shakti Flour Mills Swantantra Building,R.K.
Puram,Bangalore – 9
5 Shri Venkateswara & Co. No.11,Thulasi Thota
Road,Bangalore–53
6 Lakshmi Grinding Mills Mysore Road, Bangalore – 26
7 Mastan Khan & Sons 14 Pension on MohallaI Cross
Mysore Road, Bangalore – 18
8 G. Anand Rama Setty & Sons 242 Sulthanpet, Bangalore.
9 M/s Mahalakshmi Flour Mills T-64 Gundopanth
St.Bangalore – 53
                                                                
 
 
PERFUME SUPPLIERS:

1 Pushpa Perfumery Products 138 Akkipet Main Road, Bangalore – 2

2 Lala Banara Dass Khattri Kannauj (UP)

3 Saibaba Sugandh Bhandar 53 Sultapet,Bangalore – 53

4 Goodshould Agencies Keshav Nivas,24 I Main Road,P.B. No. 9715
Gandhinagar,Bangalore – 560 009
5 Naresh Trading Co. 36 K.V. Temple Street, Bangalore – 53

6 The Easter Essence Emporium 204 Nagarthpet ,Bangalore – 2

7 Aromatic Agencies 36 K.V. Temple Street, Bangalore.

8 G.M. Ahuja & Co. 15-Old Kasai Road, Behind Raja Market, Bangalore– 2

9 M/s Bharani Agencies P.B. 9506,Gandh Nagar,Bangalore – 9

10 Mascheijer Aromatics (India) Pvt. L I Floor,Haji Market,OK Road, Bangalore – 2

11 Aromatic (India) Pvt. Ltd. 38 Link road, Bangalore – 3

PACKING (PAPER, POLYTHENE COVERS, POLYTHENE /LITHO PRINTING)

1   M/s Lakshmi Paper Industries
2 The Paper Products Limited
3    R.K. Paper Industries
4   The National Litho Press
5    The Orient Litho Press
33-Town Rly.Station Road, Salem – 1, Tamil nadu.
60 Chinthamani Street ,Madras – 1
C-18 Ambattur Industrial Estate, Madras – 58
P.B. No. 30 Railway Feeder Road
Sivakasi (India)
P.B. No. 17 Shivakasi.

109 
 
                                                                
 
 

References:

Padmanabhan. Mohan, (2006). ITC agarbatti unit working with AP on hand-cut bamboo,
Bussinessline

Damodaran. A, Bamboo Technology Mission: The shoot of the matter is..., Business Line,
2002, May 31

AIAMA (All India Agarbatti Manufacturers Association (AIAMA). 1992. Paper presented
at the International Seminar on Forest-based Raw Materials: Trends in Packaging,
Marketing and Perfumery. AIAMA, Bangalore, India.

INBAR (International Network for Bamboo and Rattan). 1994. Constraints to Production of
Bamboo and Rattan. Report of a Consultation held from 9 to 13 May 1994, Bangalore, India.
INBAR Technical Report No. 5. INBAR, New Delhi. 245p.

NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research). 1990. Agarbattis: Market and
Marketing - a Survey of Households. NCAER, New Delhi, (mimeograph).

Rajendran, S; Hanumappa, H.G. 1992. NGOs in Boosting Social Forestry: a Case Study of
Tamil Nadu. Kurukshetra, August 1992. Pp13-15. New Delhi, India.

Madhab J, The Green Gold: Under Exploited Wealth of the North East India

Planning Commission: National Mission on Bamboo Technology and Trade Development

(2003)
National Mission on Bamboo Applications. Various documents.

Cane & Bamboo News, Quality bulletin of CBTC. Vol. I. No. 4

110 
 
                                                                
 
 

Acknowledgements

The study was jointly funded by Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre, Guwahati and BASIX,
Hyderabad. This study has involved contributions from several organisations. The experience
and insights provided by the contributors have enabled the study to cover a broad range of
issues. Organisations that have contributed to the Study include:

• International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Beijing, China

• Tripura Cane and Bamboo development Centre (TRIBAC), Agartala
• Jayanti Domestic Products (ITC Ltd Franchisee), Agartala
•Tripura Bamboo Sticks Traders Association, Kumarghat
• PCCF, Forest Department, Govt of Tripura
• Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre, Guwahati
• BASIX, Hyderabad
• Swaranga Agrotech Pvt. Ltd., Industrial Estate, Borguri, Tinsukia
• M/S Anjani Industries, Bhimpara Road, Nau- Pukhuri, Tinsukia
• Bon Jobi Associates, Industrial Estate, Borguri, Tinsukia
• Tirupati Cottage Industries, Nau- Pukhuri, Tinsukia
• Gaolia Bamboo Products, Hijubari, Tinsukia

111 
 
                                                                
 
 

Comments and suggestions

This report is distributed internally as part of a process of wider consultation. During this
process, the findings and implications of the study should be discussed with key stakeholders
through a series of meetings and individual discussions. A final version of the report should be
published in 31st July, 2008, including comments and feedback from the consultation process.
All recipients of this report are invited to provide comments and feedback and to contact us to
discuss any issues raised or areas of particular interest for the future.

Please contact:
Bedanga Bordoloi and Etali Sarmah
PGPABM II year
S 63 and S 29,
Hostel 2,
National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE),
Hyderabad -500030,
Andhra Pradesh
Phone: 040-24016702-09 Ext: 507
Mobile: 09392458468
Email: bedangamanage07@gmail.com, etalimanage07@gmail.com

112