Feriwala; Where are Thou?

Secondary research on feriwala ( Mobile street vendors)

Who is a feriwala?

A feriwala is a mobile street vendor who doesn't have a permanent physical footprint and roams around a city or different cities to sell his product or services door to door. Feriwalas have been an integral part of Indian society and have carried a lot of cultural and emotional baggage. They provoke nostalgia and Indianness to the whole experience of interaction with them.

Do you remember Kabuliwala story from your childhood and Mini yelling,

“O Kabuliwala, O Kabuliwala”

It was a nostalgic heart-rending story from childhood that provokes the existence of street vendors around us and from the past.

I remember my favorite street vendor who sells Ice-cream in summers and corn in winters always uses different songs. He was so close to my family that I still can't forget his jingles and face. We learned about his sons and wife and his community and often helped him whenever he needed some favors.

What is the difference between street Vendors and mobile street vendors (Feriwala)?

While a street vendor sells goods and services on a specific spot with or without physical infrastructure, a feriwala generally brings its offering on a cart or head. They do not need a permanent physical footprint or essentially a power source for their business to run.

Feriwala somehow fulfilled our needs at the right time, as if they already knew how and when we needed something. They were "ephemeral," just available when you need them and gone. They always brought the "Joy of Anticipation."

Whenever I look closely at them, I always find them having a "sense of enough" as they have a limited inventory. That somehow made the opportunity for others to fit in the same portfolio. This enabled many people to have the same job opportunity and survive.

The inventory of a feriwala carries many hand-crafted and medium and small-scaled products that promoted many households industries and local suppliers.

The business model of feriwala is surprisingly very sustainable as a non-other business than a feriwala's business can change their entire inventory in no time according to season and cultural needs of customers.

The local feriwala who sells sheermal for Eid can be seen selling diya for diwali

A business model of feriwala usually consists of many stakeholders, and most of the stakeholders share an equitable share of profits. A doll-making business could have an ecosystem of people providing raw materials and makers to sellers. None of them could own most of the profit like a traditional business setup where the investor makes most of the profit margin.

Street vending is a laboratory of entrepreneurship, family business, social life and interactions

What does the government think about feriwala?

Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to regulate street vendors in public areas and protect their rights. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament of India) on 6 September 2012 by then Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on 6 September 2013 and by the Rajya Sabha (upper house) on 19 February 2014. The Bill received the assent of the President of India on 4 March 2014. The Act came into force on 1 May 2014.

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, there are 10 million street vendors in India, with Mumbai accounting for 250,000, Delhi has 450,000, Kolkata, more than 150,000, and Ahmedabad, 100,000. Most of them are immigrants or laid-off workers, work for an average of 10–12 hours a day, and remain impoverished. Street vending makes up 14% of India's total (non-agricultural) urban informal employment.

What does this Bill say?

• Town Vending Committee will be responsible for conducting a survey of all the vendors under its jurisdiction, and such survey must be conducted every five years. No street vendor will be evicted until such a survey has been done and a certificate of vending issued.
• All street vendors will be accommodated in a designated vending zone. In case all the vendors cannot be accommodated in the same vending zone, allocation of space will be made by drawing lots. However, those who fail to get space in the same vending zone will be accommodated in adjoining vending zones.
• All street vendors above fourteen years of age will be granted a certificate of vending. However, such certificates will be granted only if the person gives an undertaking that he will carry out his business by himself or through the help of his family members, he has no other means of livelihood and he will not transfer the certificate. However, the certificate can be transferred to one of his family members if such a vendor dies or suffers from a permanent disability.
• The certificate may be canceled if the vendor breaches the conditions of the certificate.
• No vendor will be allowed to carry out vending activities in no-vending zones.
• In case of declaration of a specified area as a no-vending zone, the vendors will be relocated to another area. However, such street vendors must be given a notice of at least 30 days for relocation. Vendors who fail to vacate such space after a notice has been given will have to pay a penalty which may extend up to two hundred fifty rupees per day.
• The local authority may physically remove the vendor and make seizure of goods of such vendors who have not relocated to the vending zones.
• There shall be a dispute resolution body consisting of a Chairperson who has been a civil judge or a judicial magistrate and two other professionals as prescribed by the appropriate government.
• There will be a Town Vending Committee in each zone or ward of the local authority.
• A vendor who vends without a certificate of vending or a vendor who contravenes the conditions laid down in the certificate may be penalized with a fine that may extend up to two thousand rupees.

What is the current status of street vendors?

Even though such government instruments and regulations protect the street vendors, the current status of street vendors is still very miserable due to negligence on the part of local authority and governance.

Instead of getting promoted through various livelihood missions by the government of India, they mostly become victims of hate local politics and often suffer unjustified identity in society.

Instead of working towards public and health safety programs and providing proper training to street vendors, street vendors are usually harassed in the name of health and sanitation.

Due to the lack of due diligence and proper identification of the nature of business, street vendors often fail to benefit from various government policies and financial institutions.

What is the market size?

As per the reports from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, there are more than 10 million street vendors, and that makes up 14% of the total urban informal employment (non-agriculture)

If we talk about monetary value, the monthly turnover of street vendors is estimated at Rs. 2.88 lakh crore and Rs. 8000 crore daily.

This makes quite a large market in the organized sector, and government policies should align with this industry.

Size of Prize

Even if Private players look into it they can easily grab 20% of the market share in mobile street vending in urban areas with a thoughtful branding and marketing strategy and a design thinking approach. For acquiring this prize, one must keep in mind that the key user is the customer and the mindset can be realigned with modern tools and techniques.

This surely will built a community on Indian moral values and inclusive society for all.