Abstract :
Bidi rolling is the major occupation of the women and children of the backward rural areas. It provides
direct employment to about 4.8 million workers in India (Ministry of Labour and Employment, Govt. of
India, 2018). West Bengal has the highest number of female bidi workers, followed by Madhya
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. The bidi industry is the fourth largest employers of
workers in India and majority of them are home-based unorganized women workers. In West Bengal,
distribution of bidi workers varies from one district to another, the highest being in Murshidabad
district. The Sundarban region, comprising 19 CD Blocks has a total number of nearly 80,000 bidi
workers with the largest concentration in the Kultali block. The study provides a brief account of the
growth and distribution of the bidi industry in the Indian Sundarban region.
Keyword :
Bidi Rolling Sundarban Unorganized Sector Backward Rural Area Tobacco Cultivation