Hair today, cash tomorrow for Gadkari

Nagpur: Union surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari said Purti Group, company promoted by him, is set to bag a major deal in the Gulf for selling amino acid-based plant growth boosters made out of human hair. The minister has been batting for the product at every forum.
Though the idea may have evoked scepticism and even ridicule, Gadkari did not leave any chance to promote the idea stressing it could change the dynamics of fertilizer business.
“Now we are close to bagging a major order. A deal worth Rs180 crore is in the offing with a Dubai-based entity,” Gadkari told a press conference on Sunday.
Amino acid is a commonly used booster for plant growth and made by different companies in the business of farm inputs. However, the product is usually made out of vegetable or poultry feather. Purti’s product is made out of human hair, which is a cheaper raw material. The company adopted a research done at Mahatma Gandhi Insitute of Rural Industrialization (MGIRI), a central government agency based at Wardha.
“We are procuring hair from Tirupati but that is not going to be enough. Get me hair from everywhere you can, even of pigs, cattle or hens and we will use it,” Gadkari said at the conference.
Sudhir Diwe, general manager at Purti Group, said that the company started by making 400 litres first. “After the initial success, we made 2,000 litres more. Now Purti has a plant with a capacity to generate 1 lakh litres of amino acid out of human hair annually. At present it is making 30,000 litres,” he added.
The business gained momentum in last 8-9 months and company has already earned around Rs4-5 crore by selling the product around Delhi and in Vidarbha. “The Dubai order will be the first major deal,” he said.
Diwe said the Dubai-based entity was engaged in making organic fertilizer to be sold in Gulf area. Purti will be selling two of its products — Bhu Suraksha, a soil nutrient made out of by-products generated while making alcohol out of baggase and Purtamino Plus the amino acid-based booster. The company may buy Rs90 crore worth of each.
“The deal was in the last stages of being sealed,” said Diwe, adding he could not immediately recall company's name.
Diwe informed that human hair was preferred as it was cheaper compared to other inputs like poultry feathers or vegetables. Purti bought hair from Tirupati shrine through e-auction, procuring nearly 10 tonnes a month.
“This month rates have gone up by Rs9,000 a tonne, touching Rs40,000. There is a demand from other industries too. Apart from wigs, human hair is used in brushes too. Perhaps Purti is the only company using it to make amino acid,” said Diwe. Around one tonne is procured from barber shops in Nagpur, he said.