The woman rolling the lumps of fuel in #Bihar is making an astonishing contribution to the economy. One though, that will not figure in our #GDP. If the millions of households using #cowdung as a fuel switched over to fossil fuels, it would be a catastrophe. 
India spends more foreign exchange on the import of petroleum and its products than on any other item. Dung is a vital organic fertiliser input used by millions in raising crops. It also works as an insect repellent and has many other uses. Cut it any way you like.
The women who collect dung in the country -- and it is ‘women’s work’ -- save India millions, maybe billions of dollars that we'd otherwise spend on petroleum, fertiliser, and insecticide imports each year.
But since dung is not registered on the stock exchange, and maybe because they know or care little about the lives of the women who gather it -- mainstream economists tend to not factor it into their understanding. They simply do not see or respect such labour.
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