KVIC gets order for 1.91 lakh Khadi durries for paramilitary forces

New Delhi: The Swadeshi drive in paramilitary forces has got a big boost with Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) receiving a huge supply order of 1.91 lakh Khadi Cotton durries worth Rs 10 crore.

The order has been received from Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) which is the nodal agency for procuring provisions on behalf of all paramilitary forces in the country. The fresh order comes following an agreement signed between KVIC and ITBP for supplying durrieson January 6, this year.

The development comes in wake of the Swadeshi push in Central Armed Police Forces by Home Minister Shri Amit Shah who ordered the use of Swadeshi products only in the forces.

As per the specifications, KVIC will provide blue-colour durries of 1.98 meter length and 1.07 meter width. The cotton durries will be produced by Khadi institutions of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. An estimated 1.75 lakh man days of additional work for the Khadi artisans will be created by this purchase order alone. This is for the first time KVIC is supplying durries to the paramilitary forces.

KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said this order from ITBP is a testimony of Khadi's popularity among the forces owing to its high quality standards. "KVIC has been receiving successive orders from the forces which indicates the increasing use of Swadeshi products by our jawans. At the same time, it also creates additional employment for Khadi artisans," Saxena said.

Out of the 1.91 lakh durries, 51,000 will be supplied to ITBP; 59,500 to BSF; 42,700 to CISF and 37,700 to SSB. The order will be supplied by November this year. KVIC developed the cotton durries as per the samples provided by ITBP and the same has been approved by the agency. The cotton durries prepared by KVIC have also been certified by Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA), a unit of the Ministry of Textile.