A social media post shared by Kerala Congress has gone viral. In the post, Kerala Congress claims that under the Hindu BJP rule, the Modi government has been importing rudraksha beads from Indonesia. According to Congress, before the Modi government, India was self-sufficient in rudraksha production, but since Modi took office, domestic production has declined, forcing the country to rely on imports. Kerala Congress also criticized PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, arguing that despite the campaign, India now has to import rudraksha due to the fall in local production.
Congress Kerala shared on X, ‘CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? | Rudraksha beads hold a revered place in Hindu spirituality. As per Volza’s India Import data, India imported 38 shipments of Rudraksha beads between March 2023 and February 2024. These imports came from seven Indonesian exporters and were supplied to 21 Indian buyers, reflecting a 58% growth compared to the previous year. We used to produce our own Rudraksha. But under this government, which claims to be the guardian of Hindu faith, we are now importing most of our Rudraksha from Indonesia. During the Kumbh Mela, demand would have surged, leading to even higher imports. Indonesia has recognised this opportunity and is cultivating Rudraksha on a large scale, now commanding 75% of the global market. Do we need any more proof of how miserably the “Make in India” scheme has failed, despite spending thousands of crores on ads and events?’
Lavanya Ballal Jain commented on Congress Kerala post, ‘Oh! This is surprising. I thought we got most of our Rudraksha beads from the Himalayan states and Nepal.’
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We started our fact-checking process by conducting a Google search using relevant keywords. During this search, we found details about India’s Rudraksha bead exports on the Volza website. The website revealed that between March 2023 and February 2024 (TTM), India exported 208 shipments of Rudraksha beads. These exports were made by 16 Indian exporters to 38 international buyers, marking a 61% increase compared to the preceding twelve months.
Within this period, in February 2024 alone, India exported 10 Rudraksha bead shipments, showing a 100% year-on-year increase compared to February 2023, but a 71% drop from January 2024. Most of these exports were sent to the United States, United Kingdom, and Taiwan. Globally, India is the largest exporter of Rudraksha beads, leading the market with 1,114 shipments, followed by Indonesia (265 shipments) and Nepal (8 shipments).
Moreover, while examining India’s Rudraksha imports, we found that during the same period (March 2023 to February 2024), India imported 43 shipments of Rudraksha beads. These imports were supplied by 8 foreign exporters to 22 Indian buyers, reflecting a 65% increase compared to the previous twelve months. However, in February 2024, India imported only 1 shipment, marking a 50% decline compared to February 2023 and January 2024.
This data suggests that while India’s Rudraksha exports have grown significantly (61% increase), imports have declined in February 2024. It also highlights that India is not only a top producer of Rudraksha beads but also the world’s leading exporter.
There are several reasons for this. First, Rudraksha trees take 15–20 years to mature, making large-scale cultivation a slow process. According to Laxmi Narayan International, Indonesia produces around 70% of the world’s Rudraksha, while Nepal produces approximately 25%. Since Indonesian beads are cheaper and more readily available, they are preferred for bulk imports. Additionally, the price of Rudraksha beads is inversely proportional to their availability. For example, rare mukhis like 2 mukhi, 14 mukhi, and 21 mukhi from Nepal are expensive due to their limited supply. Indonesian beads dominate the higher mukhi category (14 to 21 mukhi) because they are more abundant and affordable.
Another factor is that Indian Rudraksha trees mainly produce 1, 2, and 3 mukhi beads, which are less in demand. Since Rudraksha is widely used for religious purposes in India, there is a specific demand for certain mukhis (5, 6, 7, 14, etc.), which are more commonly found in Nepal and Indonesia. As a result, India imports these beads to meet domestic demand, even though it is a major producer and exporter of Rudraksha.
In conclusion, the claim made by Congress Kerala that India’s Rudraksha production has declined under the Modi government is false. India is not only one of the top producers of Rudraksha but also the leading exporter. The country imports Rudraksha from Indonesia primarily to meet religious demand.
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