During this FY 2018-19, 376 new Khadi institutions have been added, along with over 40,000 new Khadi artisans. The KVIC has also created employment through Khadi in the remotest parts of the country such as Leh, Ladakh, the Kaziranga forest, the Sundarbans in West Bengal etc.,” The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) said.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on said its turnover crossed Rs 74,323 crore in 2018-19 with the sale of Khadi products witnessing a growth of over 145 per cent since 2014-15.

Khadi means handspun and handwoven cloth. In 1918 Mahatma Gandhi started his movement for Khadi as relief programme for the poor masses living in India’s villages.

As India is celebrating 150th birth anniversary of Mahatama Gandhi Ji, Charkha Dialogue (Samvad), an annual mega conference dedicated to Gandhian philosophy on rural economy, governance, and sustainable development is being organised on October 11, 2019 in New Delhi.

The Khadi production, which was Rs 879.98 crore in 2014-15, went up to Rs 1,902 crore in 2018-19, a growth of more than 100 per cent, and its sales recorded a growth of over 145 per cent, from Rs 1,310.9 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 3,215.13 crore in 2018-19, according to a statement issued by the KVIC.

It quoted KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena as saying, “Even the Village Industries reached Rs 71,123.68 crore in 2018-19 with respect to the turnover of Rs 31,965.52 crore in 2014-15, with a growth rate of 123 per cent.

“Khadi has made an average jump of 62 per cent in Khadi fabric production in the last five years, that is, from 103.22 million square metres in 2014-15 to 170.80 million square metres in 2018-19. In the fiscal 2014-15, the share of Khadi in overall textile production was 4.23 per cent, which, in the year 2018-19, has gone up to 8.49 per cent, which is almost the double.”

Saxena said in the last three-a-and-a-half years, the KVIC had provided over 32,000 new model charkhas (spinning wheels) and 5,600 modern looms, which increased the Khadi production.

“We, for the first time, brought major textile corporates like Raymonds, Arvind Mills and Aditya Birla Textiles in the Khadi sector for its marketing, which increased Khadi sales manifold. The KVIC also brought major PSUs into the Khadi-fold for purchasing Khadi gift coupons for their employees, which has given business of over Rs 100 crore,” Saxena said in the statement.