Sale of Khadi and Village Industries (KVI) products has increased during the last two years registering the sale of Rs. 52138.21 crore in 2016-17 and Rs. 59098.04 crore in 2017-18. Minister of State (I/C) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Giriraj Singh, stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
He said Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is engaged in promoting and developing Khadi and Village Industries through Khadi and Village Industries Institutions, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industries Centre (DIC) in the country and Khadi and Village Industries units export their products directly or through merchant exporters. The KVIC does not export khadi products directly. He said seventeen items worth Rs. 26,938.74 lakh were exported by KVI units in 2016-17 and Rs. 27,500 Lakh in 2017-18.
These products are exported to European, Asian and North American countries. Honey has been the highest exports grosser with Rs. 13349.03 and 13627.15 lakh in 2016-17 & 2017-18.
The Minister informed the House that assistance is provided under the Market Promotion and Development Assistance (MPDA) scheme to the eligible KVI Institutions for participation in international exhibitions and trade fairs held abroad. They are provided space rent upto Rs 1.25 Lakh and air fare upto Rs.1.00 lakh. The KVIs are also given monetary incentives for participation in domestic & international exhibitions at State and National levels. Financial assistance is also provided to exporters participating in International Trade Fairs held in India like India International Trade Fair (IITF), New Delhi, where stall rentals are subsidized for exporting institutions. Other initiatives taken to promote the exports of KVI products include theirparticipation in International Trade Fairs through ITPO, New Delhi, tie up arrangements for bringing out innovative export quality product designs with NIFT, tie up arrangement with premier export institutions like Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO), CII and FICCI, World Trade Centre (WTC) and Trade Promotion Council of India for invigorating business opportunities in the overseas market. An MoU has been signed between KVIC and Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd., Raymond and Arvind Mills for sale of Khadi fabric in the country and abroad.
KVIC has applied for registration of “Khadi” as a Word mark and “Khadi India” as a Trade Mark in the IPR Act at the National Level. It has also filed an online application for registering “Khadi” as a trade mark under International bureau in European Union and other countries.
