Rama Krishna Sangem
Udhyam Vyapaar has announced a significant milestone: its intervention, The Istri Project, has enabled Istri Vendors across India to achieve a cumulative income uplift of ₹100 crore as of September 2025. These vendors were helped replace their traditional coal iron boxes with LPG operated ones, so that their get clean energy and health.
The Istri Project transforms the age-old ironing industry by helping the street side ironing vendors switch from coal to LPG based iron boxes at subsidised rates. With this innovation, ironing vendors are able to reduce fuel costs by nearly half, and increase productivity by up to 2 hours a day.
This allows them to serve more customers and earn extra income. Switching from coal to LPG also helps them to move to a cleaner fuel, reducing impact on not just their health but also on the environment, said Udyam Vyapaapr in a press release on October 6, Monday.
Over the last 4 years, Udhyam Vyapaar has scaled ‘The Istri Project’ from 1 city to 5 cities, enabling over 8,000 ironing vendors to make the switch to LPG iron boxes. Ironing vendors supported by the initiative have seen an average income uplift of 25%, alongside the elimination of over 6,000 tons of CO₂ emissions yearly.
Believe in nano-entrepreneurs
Krishnan Ranganathan, Co-Founder, Udhyam Learning Foundation says, “At Udhyam, we believe that nano-entrepreneurs are a significant pillar of India’s economic fabric, who can improve the lives of a large part of the population, when provided with the right support. Crossing the ₹100 crore milestone with The Istri Project is a proud moment not just for us, but for the thousands of ironing vendors who chose to embrace change.
It demonstrates how localized livelihood solutions can create national-scale impact, improving incomes, health, and environmental outcomes at the same time.”
Cyril Joseph, Program Head, The Istri Project, Udhyam Vyapaar says, “This milestone belongs to the thousands of ironing vendors who trusted us, made the switch from coal to LPG, and reimagined what their businesses could achieve. The Istri Project started with a simple idea, to help vendors save fuel costs and improve their productivity. Now it has grown into a movement with measurable impact on their livelihoods and the environment.”
With this ₹100 crore milestone, Udhyam Vyapaar is now energised about further scaling this up and empowering ironing vendors across the nation. Udhyam aims to make India coal iron box free in the next decade and calls out to like-minded partners, across social impact organisations, philanthropic organisations, CSRs and Government to join hands to make this vision come true.
