Jan 2009: Street Vending

Cover Story: Street vendors make ‘invisible’ but indispensable contribution to all categories of people in India and to the national economy. However the returns they get are trivial both in terms of income or appreciation. Being part of the informal sector they are deprived of several benefits that their counterparts enjoy in the organized sector. At least one out of five families is having a livelihood of street vending. There are some street vendors who move from house-to-house or street-to-street; there are some who bring home the products and the tools at the end-of-the-day after sales at a certain points or set of points of sale on the street/s; some are using foot paths and some others are using temporary shops and the diversity goes on into their other aspects of trade. ’livelihoods’ attempts to explore some of this largely diverse sector that seems to have something for all and all for some.