In the past two years, yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved has galloped to become a key FMCG player in India. The unlisted company’s CEO, Acharya Balkrishna, was recently ranked by a Chinese magazine as the 25th richest in the world, with an estimated wealth of ₹25,000 crore.
Competitiveness, they say, is good for businesses as well as consumers. However, with Patanjali’s success story riding on the sentiments of ‘nationalism’ being whipped up in recent times, as well as pricing, what is dismaying is the subtle patronage the private firm’s products is getting from governments, at times hurting the prospects of similar products being made by thousands of cottage and village industries. Step into Kendriya Bhandar stores run under the Central government in Delhi, and Patanjali products — ayurvedic formulations, creams, shampoos, pulses, noodles, spices, edible oils, grains, etc.— are lined up on the shelves. Recently, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh expressed its keenness to sell Patanjali products in over 16,000 fair price shops in the State. And, with the latest announcement of ‘swadeshi jeans’, Patanjali is foraying into yet another Khadi Gramodyog initiative — denim.
Per se, there is nothing wrong in Patanjali promoting its popular and low-priced products. But what is distressing is that in government-run stores, its products, instead of taking on the financially robust MNCs, are clashing directly with Khadi products that are priced higher.
In a competitive market, the lack of zeal to promote Khadi products in departmental stores, supermarkets and online platforms doesn’t bode well for thousands of khadi and village industries. They are not just a symbol of our fight for Independence, but they also play a great socio-economic role by providing non-farm employment opportunities to weavers and artisans, a large section of which belongs to the most vulnerable sections of our society — the Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
Aditi Nigam Senior Deputy Editor