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{"text":[[{"start":10.15,"text":"In an Indian city with a four-century tradition of glassmaking, Mukesh Bansal wonders how long he can continue making the handblown bangles, tumblers and chandeliers famous the world over."}],[{"start":23.450000000000003,"text":"Disruption to gas supplies from the Gulf, which feed the furnaces of India’s “city of glass”, has caused energy prices to surge, forcing many factories to curtail production."}],[{"start":34.550000000000004,"text":"“This is the worst crisis to ever hit us,” said Bansal, chair of Shri Sitaram Glassworks."}],[{"start":41.050000000000004,"text":"Firozabad city has weathered a devastating energy crisis before. In 1996, its factories were ordered to switch from coal to gas in order to protect the white marble facades of the Taj Mahal, located just 40km away, from ash. Only a third of the city’s glass businesses survived."}],[{"start":60.10000000000001,"text":"“When the 1996 ruling came, we had to transition overnight, we started from scratch,” Bansal said."}],[{"start":66.60000000000001,"text":"Once again, the industry is grappling with energy supply upheaval. Two-thirds of India’s gas imports come from the Middle East, where the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the US-Israeli war in Iran has constrained supply and sent prices soaring. "}],[{"start":82.2,"text":"Fuel prices account for up to 35 per cent of glassmaking costs, feeding furnaces that need to be constantly fuelled in order to run as hot as 1,000C. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":"Glassmakers work at a major furnace in Firozabad, dubbed India’s “city of glass”
"}],[{"start":92.4,"text":"Glassmakers, many of them small and medium-sized factories that were already running razor-thin margins, say gas supply cuts of more than 20 per cent since early March have knocked output by an average of 30 per cent. "}],[{"start":105.30000000000001,"text":"Exports, which account for about 30 per cent of Firozabad’s production and mainly go to the US, have also fallen, as the price of shipping has jumped. Shipments to the Gulf, another top destination, have also stalled. "}],[{"start":118.95000000000002,"text":"“Gas supply is short and input costs have risen,” said Raj Kumar Mittal, president of the Uttar Pradesh Glass Manufacturers Syndicate."}],[{"start":128.10000000000002,"text":"He added that supplies of soda ash — a key component for glass manufacturing, much of which comes from Iran— had also been nearly halted by the war."}],[{"start":138.25000000000003,"text":"The US and Iran are locked in critical negotiations this week to extend a fragile ceasefire, which could include Tehran gradually reopening the strait and allowing energy shipments to resume through it."}],[{"start":151.40000000000003,"text":"But the global energy shock has already put pressure on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” push to turn the country into a manufacturing powerhouse and a supply chain rival to China. Modi cautioned this month that the coronavirus pandemic, global conflicts and Gulf crisis were creating a “decade of disasters”."}],[{"start":171.05000000000004,"text":"The UN Development Programme last month warned that the Middle East conflict could push as many as 2.5mn people in India into poverty."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":"Firozabad has a four-century tradition of glassmaking and up to 1mn people are employed directly or indirectly by the industry
"}],[{"start":179.75000000000003,"text":"India’s small and medium-sized manufacturing sector, which includes most glassmakers, accounts for about 30 per cent of GDP and 45 per cent of exports. The industry was already struggling in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision last year to raise tariffs on India’s exports to 50 per cent to penalise New Delhi for purchases of Russian oil."}],[{"start":202.00000000000003,"text":"Up to 1mn people are employed directly or indirectly by Firozabad’s glassmaking industry, with about 200 companies generating more than $1bn in annual revenue and $200mn in exports, according to Bansal, who is also the vice-president of The All India Glass Manufacturers’ Federation."}],[{"start":221.95000000000002,"text":"Abhishek Kumar, president of the Entrepreneurs Association of India, said that 26 per cent of the country’s 30mn-plus small manufacturers were “on life support” as a result of rising energy, chemical and transport costs."}],[{"start":235.55,"text":"Indian officials have privately warned that citizens must prepare for an economic shock. Modi has appealed to Indians to tighten their belts and conserve fuel supplies by working from home, using public transport, avoiding travelling abroad for holidays and weddings and suspending non-essential gold purchases. "}],[{"start":253.85000000000002,"text":"Some smaller producers are trying to adapt. "}],[{"start":257.05,"text":"Ashish Ojha, whose family has made popular glass sculptures of Hindu deities for more than three decades, has turned to liquefied petroleum gas cylinders typically used for cooking. The prices of LPG cylinders have also shot up by 50 per cent, however, forcing him to halve production."}],[{"start":274.8,"text":"“We’re not involved in the war, but we’re bearing the brunt of it,” said Ojha. "}],[{"start":280.2,"text":"But for many glassmakers, it may not be enough. "}],[{"start":284.25,"text":"Around this time of year, Bansal’s workshop should be making Halloween and Christmas ornaments, largely for export to the US. But with production costs up 25 per cent, many of his furnaces risk going cold."}],[{"start":298.1,"text":"“Somehow we keep going — but we don’t know for how long,” Bansal said."}],[{"start":null,"text":"India Business Briefing
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