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Minister for Industries S. Keerthana. | Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

During an internal meeting with officials from the Industries and Guidance Departments, S. Keerthana, Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce, has proposed a policy framework for the fireworks industry in Sivakasi.

At the meeting, she stressed the need for such a policy. Nearly 90% of India’s fireworks are manufactured in Sivakasi, making it the country’s largest fireworks production hub. The industry is estimated to be valued at around ₹6,000 crore and currently comprises over 1,100 factories. “I want a policy reform aimed at further formalising the sector through specific and targeted measures that address multiple needs of all stakeholders involved in the industry, including worker safety, welfare, and the concerns of factory owners and other representatives,” she told The Hindu.

“During my previous discussions with them, it emerged that several critical loopholes and structural gaps still exist, and this policy will be aimed at bridging those gaps through a more comprehensive and practical framework,” Ms. Keerthana said.

Activists and labour groups, who have been tracking the Sivakasi region, said that the new government should address longstanding issues such as improving safety standards for women workers handling hazardous chemicals, ensuring humane working conditions across factories and weed out ill-legal units that are mushrooming around small villages around this belt. They also want the government to go beyond business expansion and address concerns like child labour.

A second-generation industrialist from Sivakasi, whose company has been operating for over five decades and a member of the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association, said production in the fireworks sector had been impacted following the Supreme Court’s ban on barium nitrate, a key chemical used in the manufacture of firecrackers.

While a few companies have been exploring the possibility of exporting fireworks from Sivakasi, only two or three large players currently have the financial and operational capacity to do so. “Earlier fireworks from here were exported to the United States, South Africa and other countries. But it has halted due to logistics constraints,” he added.

A policy on the way forward for the industry would be of help, industrialists said, adding that the new government should take efforts to eliminate Chinese fireworks that has killed businesses in Sivakasi.

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