KVIC harnesses Khadi's potential to infuse self-sustainability in COVID-hit 2021

New Delhi: The year 2021, the second successive COVID-hit year, posed a major challenge to KVIC. Just like the year 2020, KVIC, in 2021 too, was forced to work in severe constraint due to nationwide lockdown during the second wave of COVID pandemic in the months of April and May this year. But while KVIC continued with its routine activities of production in Khadi and Village Industry sectors, it also came up with a host of innovative projects that not only created large-scale employment opportunities but also reaffirmed Khadi as a time-tested tool of self-reliance. As the year 2021 comes to an end, here's a look at the major initiatives taken by KVIC that not only supported the rural industries during this year but also laid the foundation for a robust rural economy in the years to come.

The year 2021 saw people's massive turnout to purchase local products in response to the Prime Minister's appeal. On October 30, 2021 the single-day sale of Khadi at its flagship outlet at Connaught Place, New Delhi, stood at a whopping Rs 1,29,05,000 (Rs 1.29 crore), surpassing all previous records. Earlier, the highest ever single-day sale of Khadi was recorded at Rs 1,28,33,000 (Rs 1.28 crore) on October 2, 2019. This is the 13th occasion since 2016, when Khadi's single-day sale at one store has exceeded the Rs 1 crore mark.

The year 2021 started with a historic MoU with ITBP for purchase of Khadi cotton durries for the paramilitary forces. The MoU was signed on January 6, 2021 for purchase of 1.72 lakh durries, which was later increased to 2.68 lakh durries worth Rs 13.60 crore. These bulk orders for Khadi products will not only encourage the use of Swadeshi products in paramilitary forces but also create large-scale additional employment for Khadi artisans.

On January 19, 2021, KVIC and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs entered into agreements for purchasing Khadi fabric for tribal students and for wider employment generation in the tribal sector. As part of the first MoU, the KVIC will supply over 6 lakh meters of Khadi fabric worth Rs 14.77 crore for the students in Eklavya Residential Schools being run by the Tribal Affairs Ministry. Under the second MoU, National Scheduled Tribe Finance Development Corporation (NSTFDC), an agency of the Tribal Affairs Ministry has also been roped in as a partner of KVIC in implementing the Prime Minister Employment Generation Program (PMEGP), a flagship scheme of the Government of India.

To mitigate frequent elephant – human conflicts, KVIC, on March 15, 2021, launched a unique Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant – Human Attacks using Bees) in Karnataka's Kodagu district to ward off elephants using Honey Bees. It is a cost-effective measure that keeps elephants away from human habitation without causing any harm to the animals and the humans. Surveillance conducted at four locations on the periphery of Nagarhole National Park (Karnataka) have shown elephant attacks declining by nearly 70 per cent in these areas. Following the success of the project in Karnataka, KVIC replicated the project in Goalpara district of Assam, where 330 bee boxes were placed to ward off elephants. While bee boxes will help in mitigating human-elephant conflicts; the honey produced from these boxes will add to the income of farmers and gradually contribute to the national food security.

In order to infuse self-sustainability into the Indian pottery sector, KVIC designed a scheme called "Strengthening the Potential of India" (SPIN), where the Government, i.e. the KVIC is acting as a facilitator for financial aid through banks under Pradhan Mantri Shishu Mudra Yojana. The scheme was launched on 17th September 2021. The idea is to provide artisans a hand holding support in developing entrepreneurship, in tune with the Prime Minister's aspiration of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

The unique Khadi Prakritik Paint developed by KVIC using cow dung as raw material was adopted by the state governments of Chhattisgarh and Haryana as a model of sustainable employment. A total of 31 Prakritik Paint manufacturing units – 25 in Chhattisgarh and 6 in Haryana – will be set up by the respective state governments soon.