STORY OF LIJJAT PAPAD

• Story dates back to 1959, when 7 Gujarati women living in South Mumbai, who had no formal business education, came together to start a small business of papads from their houses.
• Jaswantiben Popat, and six others had borrowed a sum of Rs.80 to start their business with the aim of earning moneyand taking charge of their lives.
• India's oldest all - women cooperative started as Shri Mahila Udyog Lijjat Papad, the company is now India's oldest all - women cooperative and has a net worth of over Rs.1600  crore.
• As of 2021, Lijjat Papad company is co - owned by 45000 women who together make 4.8 million papads every day.
• It is largely run by women as it aims to empower them financially and help them earn extra income for their households. Men have only limited roles in the company such as drivers, helpers etc.
• Today the Lijjat Papad enterprise has 82 branches and is involved in the manufacturing of numerous FMCG goods such as detergents, rotis etc.
• Besides having a strong presence in India, the brand also exports overseas to countries like USA and Singapore.
• In November 2021, one of Lijjat Papad's cofounder who is over  90 years of age, Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat was awarded the fourth highest civilian award 'Padma Shri' by President Ram Nath Kovind.