Ballia is a district in Uttar Pradesh, with its district headquarters located at Ballia town. Ballia district is a part of Azamgarh division situated in the East of Uttar Pradesh.

The main economic activity in the district is agriculture, given the fertile land. There are six tehsils in this district, namely – Ballia, Bansdih, Rasra, Bairia, Sikandarpur and Belthara. Rasra is the second major commercial area of the district, with a government owned sugar mill and a cotton-weaving industry. Although Ballia primarily engages in agriculture, there exist some supplementary small industries. Maniar and Sikandarpur is known for its bindi industry and is one of the major suppliers. The major industry at Ballia is of Bindi. The product is supplied in Uttar Pradesh as well as across the country. This industry plays an important role in revenue generation of district.

Ballia lies in the eastern most part of Uttar Pradesh bordering Bihar. The district is surrounded by six districts namely, Mau (U. P.) on the west, Ghazipur (U. P.) on the southwest, Bhojpur (Bihar) on the south, Chapra (Bihar) on the east and Deoria (U. P.) & Siwan (Bihar) on the north. The total area of district is 2981 Sq. Km. supporting a total population of 27.61 lakh with a density of 926 persons per Square Km., as against the state average of 648 persons per Square Km. There are three main rivers in the district: the Ghaghra, the Ganga and the Saryu. The district lies between the parallels of 25º33' and 26º11' North latitudes and 83º38' and 84 º 39’ East longitudes .Ballia is well connected to the state capital Lucknow and the cities of Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi and Allahabad by road. The state bus corporation UPSRTC is the primary road transport media. Ballia railway station caters to many trains daily including 2 FRajdhani Expresses. Train connectivity to major cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata as well as to Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi and Allahabad via many trains is available.

The district comprises of an irregularly shaped tract extending westward from the confluence of the Ganga and the Ghaghra, the former separating it from Bihar in the south and the latter from Deoria and Bihar in the north and east respectively. The boundary between Ballia and Bihar is determined by the deep streams of these two rivers. Besides being surrounded by two major rivers Ganges and Ghaghra (Saryu), the district is also intersected by numerous streams that make its land more fertile Though, there are no hills, the surface level is varied because of the high banks of the rivers and the gentle slope from the central water shed towards the Ganga, the Ghaghra and the Saryu. There are depressions of varying depth and extent in which the drainage water gets collected, prior to its draining into the main streams of the rivers.The district can be divided into two natural divisions: the interior upland and the lowland tract. In terms of area both the divisions are approximately equal. The upland has an average altitude of 64 meters above sea-level and comprises of the western half of the district. Ballia has damp and humid subtropical climate with cool, dry winters from October to February and dry, hot summers from March to June. The rainy season is from mid-June to mid-September, when Ballia gets an average rainfall of 999.5 millimetres. In winter, the maximum temperature is around 25 °C (77 °F) and the minimum is in the 3 to 4 degrees Celsius range. Fog is quite common from late December to late January. Summers are extremely hot with temperatures rising to the 40-to-46-degree Celsius range.

As given in the following table, MSME industries across the sectors of agro-based industries, repair & servicing, wood, metal, textile, chemical, leather, paper and paper products etc. are the key economy drivers of the district. Repairing and Servicing, highest among all the enterprises contribute most in terms of employment and revenue, which is approximately 35% and 17% respectively followed by agro based industries which contributes ~24% to revenue and ~18% of work force is employed in this vertical. Repairing and servicing sector of MSME with 3960 units in the district is the most prominent and economy contributing sector of the district. It is followed by sectors such as “agro based,” “Textiles,” with 1136 and 1600 units, respectively. Out of total population of 32,39,774 (2011 census), 10,19,483 are working population. Out of total working population, 35% are working in other industries, 20.2% are cultivators, 37.7% are agricultural labourers and only 7.1% are household industry workers. This indicates that agriculture is the main source of income in the district.

The total export from Ballia is approximately INR 0.87 Cr for the period September 2020 to November 2021. The following table depicts the value of export of major products from Ballia:

The term bindi is derived from bindu, the Sanskrit word for a dot or a point, also representing the numeral zero. Bindi, in India, is traditionally a mark of pigment applied to the forehead and is associated with the Hindu symbol of the third eye. Indian women wear the customary red bindi as a symbol of marriage. The traditional bindi has, gradually, transitioned into a commercially manufactured stick-on vinyl, a disposable commodity that can be referred to as a secular, feminine accessory. Bindi is widely used by the Indian housewives. They are regular consumable items that are known to add grace to the women’s personalities, with a dignified outlook. The bindi is equally used by both married as well as unmarried girls. The demand for bindi is increasing, as the modern women prefer to wear bindi in assorted shades. There exist five primary villages, where Bindi handicraft is concentrated, namely – Maniar Muhalla, Garhwar, Triklapur, Jigani, Babhanouli and Shatwar. The total population of these villages is approximately 8,000, with nearly 1,200 households. There are around 50 production units that employ close to 600 workers . At the onset of the craft, the bindi were predominantly made from glass. It has been said that some members of a Muslim family learnt the craft techniques from Kolkata and other regions. They later graduated, to sourcing the entire value chain of bindi production from the locals of Ballia by providing them with relevant training. It was in the year 1975 that the glass bindi transformed into velvet bindi. In the next two decades, the Ballia bindi industry flourished and became rather popular.

The cluster performs a part of value chain. The cutting and pasting of bindi is done outside the cluster. The pre-pasted bindi sheets are supplied by the traders and agents to the village workers. These are pasted on to different sizes of foldable pouches of paper. Bindi from the sheets is pasted on the foldable paper, in specific numbers, depending on the design and size of bindi. The number may vary from a single bindi to a dozen bindis on single sheet. The sheets with pasted bindis are folded in pre-branded paper envelopes. Each of this small pack, is further packaged in moderately superior-sized boxes for dispatch.

Different varieties of bindis are assembled in the clusters. Most of the manufacturers and traders work for diverse brands from Varanasi, Lucknow, Delhi and Mumbai.;

Bindi is ODOP product of Ballia district and does not hold GI tag for the product.;

Following are principal Industry Associations/NGOs that are working for the development of Bindi in Ballia:
► Jan Shikshan Snasthan
► Human Welfare Association ;

The following table lists the HS codes under which the products are exported from the district:;

The export scenario of India and Uttar Pradesh have been analysed basis the export statistics of HS codes mentioned above under which black pottery products are exported. Alongside are the key facts pertaining to the analysed product codes. Based on our analysis, we have identified key synergies that should be developed to expand our current reach and potential; These synergies are divided into immediate and long term. The immediate synergies include countries with Signed FTA’s, high growth potential, and one is catered by India and not UP. Whereas the long-term synergies include countries with untapped market potential which can only be fulfilled if UP’s exporters comply and raise the quality of the product to the highest standards, freight rates are more subsidized and major efforts is required in marketing which will require time to accommodate the same.;

► The total export of above-mentioned HS code from Uttar Pradesh was approx. INR 64 lakhs USD Thousand in year 2018-19 .
► India's exports represent 0.3% of world exports for this category, the value of India’s exports has gradually increased since 2015-2019.
► Annual growth in value between 2015 to 2019 is 2% while annual growth in quantity is 8% during this period.
► India holds 32nd rank under this category and in close competition with countries like Russia, Sweden, Ireland etc.
► Total export from U.P. has jumped up from 1.14 Lakh Cr in 2018-19 to 1.20 Lakh Cr in year 2019-20 registering a growth of more than 5%.
► The cluster has tremendous export potential, but owing to lack of proper market assessment mechanism, changing design patterns, specific demand preferences, the traders in cluster are hesitant of being exporter.
► Hence, it was pointed out that the proper study of the foreign market, region specific demand patterns to be ascertained. Along with that, a common platform to be created where there can be an integration between the exporters and importers, thereby making the export ecosystem robust and effective.

A. Tools and technology: The bindi making process employs a number of tools, namely – adhesive, coating machine, drying chamber and a punching machine. The Maniar cluster does not employ any form of technology, given the strip of bindi is supplied by the traders B. Designs: The designs for bindis are imparted to the artisans by traders that travel to the cluster from Varanasi and Lucknow. There is an absolute dearth of innovation, with respect to the designs C. Quality: The artisans have not been formally trained in the processes of binding, pasting and packaging. The craft is predominantly carried out in a rural setting, with the artisans pursuing the craft in their spare time. By providing craft training artisans can head towards manufacturing rather than job work. D. Product diversification: The tiny bindi has come a long way since Independence. The bindi making has gradually diversified and at present, there are variety of bindis available in the market. Vermilion, sandalwood and ash gave way to vials of multi-colored kumkum in the 1970s. Later, in 1986, a then-nouveau brand, Shilpa, introduced easy-to-use stick-on versions that were punched from imported maroon felt, with glue that didn’t stain skin. Today, bindis are no longer a requirement of only the married women but are as fancied by the young girls. However, the diversification is understood to be the responsibility of the core brands of bindi. Despite this understanding, the cluster is absolutely devoid of product diversification. There is a pronounced purview for product diversification and value addition in the bindi cluster. The nouveau bindi stencils are extensively in fashion across the globe.