Udhyam Vyapaar announced a major milestone today as its flagship initiative, The Istri Project, helped street ironing vendors across India achieve a cumulative income uplift of ₹100 crore as of September 2025. The project supports vendors in switching from traditional coal-based iron boxes to LPG-powered ones at subsidised rates, reducing fuel costs by nearly half and increasing daily productivity by up to two hours.
Over the past four years, the initiative has expanded from one city to five, enabling more than 8,000 vendors to adopt cleaner fuel alternatives. Participating vendors have reported an average income increase of 25%, while the program has eliminated over 6,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually. “Crossing the ₹100 crore milestone demonstrates how localized livelihood solutions can generate nationwide impact, benefiting incomes, health, and the environment simultaneously,” said Krishnan Ranganathan, Co-Founder, Udhyam Learning Foundation.
In Agartala, the project has positively influenced the local street vendor ecosystem, with ironing service providers reporting higher customer footfall and faster turnaround times. The shift to LPG has not only reduced operational costs but also improved working conditions in busy market areas. Cyril Joseph, Program Head of The Istri Project, emphasised that this achievement belongs to the thousands of vendors who embraced change. Udhyam Vyapaar now aims to eliminate coal iron boxes across India within the next decade and is inviting partners from government, CSR, and social impact organisations to join the initiative.
