 "Business is brooming")
Quietly, a key sector of the Indian economy has shown astonishing growth in the past two years. The unheralded Hand-held Sweeping Implement segment has logged growth rates that make the country's telecom revolution seem like mere call drops during a mobile phone conversation.
Starting with the advent of politics that sought to sweep out corruption, the Hand-held Sweeping Implement sector began unsteadily and seemed to suffer a dip when the Aam Aadmi Party could win only four of the 542 seats it had hoped to win in the general elections. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new economic initiatives have brought sweeping changes in the business.
Take for example Girdhari Lal. This marginal vendor used to eke out a living as purveyor of a basic version of a Hand-held Sweeping Implement, the jhadu. There were times when he could not put a square meal in front of his family of four, which in any case was welcome since even when they had food they could hardly eat for the stench from the garbage piled up in front of their house. This year, when July 31 approaches, Girdhari Lal will file tax returns showing an income of over Rs 5 lakh, as will his wife and his two sons. And they eat the choicest meals, often ordering in from the local Gujarati restaurant, their enjoyment helped no less by the fact that several VIPs have come and broomed away the malodorous neighbourhood filth under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
The younger son of Girdhari Lal, the more enterprising of the two siblings, has branded his brooms and the GL BStix, as they are called, come in Standard, Family and Economy sizes. There are other exclusive creations, including a Cyberstix for the WhatsApp generation. Another model, the Ultra VIP Stix, is often always bought by political parties for use by their leaders during Swachh Bharat events. His income has gone up astronomically, and he is, I believe, thinking of corporatising his business. Last heard, the Lals were in a huddle about whom they could hire from Wharton to oversee their brooming business.
In an effort to edge ahead of the crowd, some companies are putting crores into R&D. A group called INC has launched one called Swept Away that makes it practically impossible for dirt to re-enter the House. BroomTel, another company, is offering a device that has 4G-compliant connectivity and will operate in all its spectrum range of 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz.
There is a flourishing trade in second-hand brooms too. The business relies on children who grab the stuff that the politicians discard as soon as a Swachh Bharat showpiece is over and sell them at used broom dealerships. A source said that when the Delhi assembly elections were announced, the used broom business got several mega orders from the Aam Aadmi Party.
The revenue growth has been so incredible that experts who predict a compound annual growth rate of 137 per cent are being ridiculed as anti-nationals who do not want India to ascend to economic stardom. India's per capita broom, which once languished at 0.17, is today higher than 50. No wonder economists have now started talking of India's Gross Domestic Swachhata exceeding that of Singapore by 2019. And with the population set to grow at at least 10 per family, and with each birth requiring a Hand-held Sweeping Implement, the potential boggles the mind. And you thought the signal success of New India lay in the telecom sector moving from a teledensity of 2.3 per 1,000 people in 1990 to almost 80 today.
Starting with the advent of politics that sought to sweep out corruption, the Hand-held Sweeping Implement sector began unsteadily and seemed to suffer a dip when the Aam Aadmi Party could win only four of the 542 seats it had hoped to win in the general elections. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new economic initiatives have brought sweeping changes in the business.
Take for example Girdhari Lal. This marginal vendor used to eke out a living as purveyor of a basic version of a Hand-held Sweeping Implement, the jhadu. There were times when he could not put a square meal in front of his family of four, which in any case was welcome since even when they had food they could hardly eat for the stench from the garbage piled up in front of their house. This year, when July 31 approaches, Girdhari Lal will file tax returns showing an income of over Rs 5 lakh, as will his wife and his two sons. And they eat the choicest meals, often ordering in from the local Gujarati restaurant, their enjoyment helped no less by the fact that several VIPs have come and broomed away the malodorous neighbourhood filth under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
The younger son of Girdhari Lal, the more enterprising of the two siblings, has branded his brooms and the GL BStix, as they are called, come in Standard, Family and Economy sizes. There are other exclusive creations, including a Cyberstix for the WhatsApp generation. Another model, the Ultra VIP Stix, is often always bought by political parties for use by their leaders during Swachh Bharat events. His income has gone up astronomically, and he is, I believe, thinking of corporatising his business. Last heard, the Lals were in a huddle about whom they could hire from Wharton to oversee their brooming business.
In an effort to edge ahead of the crowd, some companies are putting crores into R&D. A group called INC has launched one called Swept Away that makes it practically impossible for dirt to re-enter the House. BroomTel, another company, is offering a device that has 4G-compliant connectivity and will operate in all its spectrum range of 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz.
There is a flourishing trade in second-hand brooms too. The business relies on children who grab the stuff that the politicians discard as soon as a Swachh Bharat showpiece is over and sell them at used broom dealerships. A source said that when the Delhi assembly elections were announced, the used broom business got several mega orders from the Aam Aadmi Party.
The revenue growth has been so incredible that experts who predict a compound annual growth rate of 137 per cent are being ridiculed as anti-nationals who do not want India to ascend to economic stardom. India's per capita broom, which once languished at 0.17, is today higher than 50. No wonder economists have now started talking of India's Gross Domestic Swachhata exceeding that of Singapore by 2019. And with the population set to grow at at least 10 per family, and with each birth requiring a Hand-held Sweeping Implement, the potential boggles the mind. And you thought the signal success of New India lay in the telecom sector moving from a teledensity of 2.3 per 1,000 people in 1990 to almost 80 today.
FreeRun is a fortnightly look at alternate realities
joel.rai@bsmail.in
joel.rai@bsmail.in