Govt urged to encourage khadi uniform in schools

Taking a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make khadi a household name, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has written to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, requesting it to encourage khadi uniforms in all schools.

Though the KVIC letter to HRD Minister Smriti Irani has no mention about making khadi uniforms a mandatory for students studying in government and private schools, the Commission has urged the Ministry to play a key role in promoting the indigenous product, which will give a boost to rural employment.

The KVIC, which is an arm of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ministry, has said that there is a big market for school uniforms in the country and promotion of khadi uniform will lead to the growth of the rural economy. The letter added that the fabric will become a ‘fashion’ if schoolchildren wear khadi uniforms.

Talking to Millennium Post, KVIC Chief Executive Officer Arun Kumar Jha said: “It is a step aimed at aggressive marketing of khadi as the fabric has already become a fashion statement due to Prime Minister  Modi’s affinity for it. The best thing with this industry is that khadi fabric production is mostly labour-intensive and human input is the prime factor. More production will boost rural economy and the KVIC is in talks with various departments.” 

“We want to promote khadi among police forces, in government hospitals, schools and Indian airlines. The Indian Railways is already using khadi. All this will create a wider platform for employment generation,” Jha added. 

The MSME Ministry is taking several major initiatives to make khadi a cost-effective product, so that every citizen can buy khadi clothes. The Ministry has mulled launching solar charkahs across the country to enable handspun khadi. 

“According to the estimates of the Ministry, the solar spinning wheels will create around 80 lakh jobs in the next fiscal year,” Jha said.