SHRI MAHILA GRIHA UDYOG LIJJAT PAPAD

SHRI MAHILA GRIHA UDYOG LIJJAT PAPAD

Type

Worker cooperative papads soaps and detergent

Industry

bakery products masala (spices) flour

Founded

Mumbai, [Maharashtra] (March 15, 1959)

Headquarters Mumbai, India Key people Employees Website Swati Paradkar, President 42000[1] www.lijjat.com

SHRI MAHILA GRIHA UDYOG LIJJAT PAPAD, popularly known as LIJJAT, is an Indian women's cooperative involved in manufacturing of various Fast Moving Consumer Goods. The organization's main objective is empowerment of women by providing them employment opportunities. Started in the year 1959 with a seed capital of Rs. 80, Lijjat has an annual turnover of around Rs. 650 crore (over 100 million USD) in 2010, with Rs. 29 crore in exports.[2] It provides employment to around 42,000 people.[1] Lijjat is headquartered in Mumbai and has 67 branches and 35 divisions all over India.[3] Lijjat is primarily a cottage industry, urban by its origin, that has spread to the rural areas.[4] It is considered as one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial initiatives by women that is identified with female empowerment in India.[5]

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT

Lijjat believes in the philosophy of sarvodaya and collective ownership. It accepts all its working members as the owners and an equal partaker in both profit and loss.[9] The members are co-owners and fondly referred to as "sisters". All the decisions are based on consensus and any member-sister has the right to veto a decision.[26] Men can only be salaried employees (accountants, drivers or security guards), and not the members of the organization (i.e. they are not the owners).[11]

Lijjat organization structure The running of the organization is entrusted to a managing committee of twenty-one members, including the President, the Vice-President, two secretaries, and two treasurers.[11] Sanchalikas are in-charge of various branches and divisions. The office bearers of the managing committee and the sanchalikas are chosen from among the member-sisters on the basis of consensus every three years .[27] Each branch has a committee of eleven member-sisters, again chosen by consensus. The central office at Mumbai previously coordinated the activities of various branches. But, as the organization grew, the authority was decentralized in terms of work and sharing of profits at the branch level. However, the sanchalikas still need the managing committee's approval before they undertake any new project or activity. All the branches follow the same set of instructions and have similar accounting system. To co-ordinate various branches in a region or state, there are branch coordination committees and area meetings of the

various branches in a state. The annual general meeting is attended by member-sisters representing branches and divisions from all over India. Currently, Lijjat has branches in seventeen Indian states -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Account books are easily accessible to all the member-sisters, ensuring transparency. Lijjat follows its own financial accountability principle. There is no credit method for running operations in the organization. Every payment is done on a daily basis, except for the outside supply of raw material. Profits and losses are shared equally among the members of a given branch. In the initial days of Lijjat, the profits of the first six months were shared equally among all sisters in the form of gold. This sharing practice is still in effect, but now the decision whether to share the profits in gold or in cash is made at the branch level.[28] The cost of national-level advertising is borne by all branches and divisions, depending on their individual production abilities. Because of Lijjat's main motive of generating self-employment for women, no machinery is used at the production level, and everything is done manually. However, computers are now being used in some of the Mumbai branches for accounts and administration.[11] The quality of papads can vary due to quality of water used in various parts of India. To avoid any inconsistencies, the final products are tested in the Lijjat's laboratory in Mumbai. In the monthly meetings, the quality issue and modifications are tested.[4] The central office purchases and distributes all ingredients to maintain the quality of the final product. For example, the urad dal is imported from Myanmar, asafetida is imported from Iran, and black pepper comes from Kerala. The committee often makes surprise visits to various branches to assure that production conditions are hygienic.[11] When a new branch of Lijjat opens, a neighboring Lijjat branch helps it by guiding and training new members. On successive failures of a branch to abide by the organization's philosophy of consistent quality and production of papads, the central committee reduces the daily wages of its members by 1 rupee. The member-sisters are also rewarded for extra effort. For instance, in 2002, the member-sisters at the Rajkot branch received Rs 4,000 each as bonus, while the member sisters at Mumbai and Thane branches received a 5-gram gold coin as an incentive.[11] Several issues of Lijjat Patrika enumerate the names of the names/numbers of the member-sisters, who were rewarded with the cash or gold, for their extra efforts.[7]

PRODUCTS AND DIVISIONS

Lijjat's manufactures several products, of which the papad is the most famous:

Papad (fourteen flavours, including lasan, moong, mirch, punjabi and udad[9]) Khakhra Appalam Masala Vadi Gehu atta (wheat flour) Bakery products Chapati Sasa detergent powder Sasa detergent cake (tikia) Sasa nilam detergent powder Sasa liquid detergent

Lijjat has several divisions and manufacturing units:[29]

Flour Division (Vashi) Masala Division and Quality Control Laboratory (Cotton Green) Printing Division (Cotton Green) Advertising Division, Bandra Khakhra Division, (Buhari, Valod district) Chapati Divisions at Wadala, Borivali, Mulund and Kandivali Polypropylene set-up (Kashi-Mira Road) Vadi factory (Valod) Bakery Division (Valod) Detergent Powder and Cakes manufacturing unit (Dahisar) and office (Borivali)

CULTURE OF OF THE ORGANIZATION

Lijjat Patrika, the in-house magazine, is published and circulated for a nominal rate to those interested in the activities of Lijjat. It is published in many languages, including English, Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi. It has emerged as a strong mode of communication for information related to significant events and initiatives at Lijjat, in addition to presenting articles on women.[11] Member sisters across all branches of Lijjat recite an all-religion prayer before beginning their daily activities.[11] The sisters are free to choose their activities and each activity is given equal importance. Leaving the organization is voluntary. No member sister can be asked to leave unless or until she goes against the organizational principles. There is no fixed retirement age at Lijjat. Once, when the president Jyoti Naik was questioned about this anomaly, she said that there was no need to make provision for a retirement age, as the emphasis obviously was on earning one's bread through daily work, all through one's life.[7] Because of Lijjat's main motive of generating self-employment for women, no machinery is used at the production level, and everything is done manually. However, computers are now being used in some of the Mumbai branches for accounts and administration.[11]

Role in women empowerment

The growth of the Lijjat is often seen in the larger canvas of women and their empowerment. The organization has undertaken various efforts to promote literacy and computer education for membersisters and their families. A literacy campaign for sisters began through literacy classes at Girgaum on June 18, 1999. Later, the managing committee decided to start such classes in all its branches.[11] From 1980 onwards, Lijjat started giving Chhaganbapa Smruti Scholarships to the daughters of the member-sisters.[30] The member-sisters used their organization as a medium to promote their and their families' welfare. In the Valod centre they set up an educational and hobby centre for the rural women. Orientation courses in typing, cooking, sewing, knitting and toy making as well as other courses like child welfare, first aid and hygiene were taught.[31] The first ever pucca (tarred) road in Valod to be built and inaugurated in 1979 was with the help of the Lijjat, Valod branch.[32]

In 1979, Lijjat teamed up with UNICEF to organize a seminar in Mumbai on "Child Care and Mother Welfare", as part of the International Year of the Child celebrations.[33] In October 1984, Bhadraben Bhatt represented Lijjat at the UNESCO sponsored international workshop on "The role of women in the assimilation and spread of technological innovation" held at NITIE, Powai.[34] Alkaben Kalia represented Lijjat at the national level meeting on women convened by the National Commission on Self Employed Women.[35] At the behest of Mother Teresa, the member-sisters also took part in some activities of Asha Dhan, an institution to care for destitute women.[36] Lijjat member-sisters also tried to start a co-operative bank, but the effort was not very successful.[37]

Contribution to social service

On several occasions, the Lijjat member-sisters have undertaken social service activities such as distributing nutritious food for poor children, donating money for conducting community marriage, instituting prize-money for spread of primary education, undertaking blood donation drive, organizing health camps, plantation drives and even making donations to Government bodies.[7] In 1999, the Mumbai City felicitated Smt.Rukminiben B.Pawar, Lijjat President, as an outstanding woman in the field of social work.[38] Lijjat undertook the rehabilitation of Chincholi (Jogan), the earthquake affected village in the Latur district of Maharashtra. The institution provided the finance and supervised the work of construction of fifty-eight houses for the people of the village. Member-sisters donated money from their daily vanai (wage).[39] After the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, all the branches of Lijjat gave a total donation of more than Rs 4.8 million, including Rs 1 million from the central office. Lijjat built forty houses for the rehabilitation of the people of Bhujpur (Bhachau) in Kutch District