In January last year, Bairag Mishra, a tea stall owner in Thane (west) had a strange visitor suggesting stranger things. Thirty two year-old Mishra frowned as 40 year-old Biju Nair spoke to him about joining a tea stall owners association which would give him a refurbished stall, educate him on better hygiene, and enable him to make more money.

Bairag Mishra (in green) gets a more diverse clientele after his tea stall’s makeover in March and makes Rs 3,000 a day. Earlier, he made around Rs 1,800 PICs/Sameer Markande