Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is planning to upgrade its six cotton sliver plants under the Khadi Reform Development Program (KRDP) this year to increase supply of cotton to Khadi institutions. Most of the plants are more than three decades old and it is necessary to change technology which will also increase the production capacity for better supply, Commission chairman, V K Saxena, said.
KVIC will spend about Rs 35-40 crore on the upgradation of the plants. In the first quarter of next financial year, upgradation will be commissioned in all the six plants. Which will increase production capacity by 40 per cent from current four million kgs to 5.6 million kgs a year.
Looking at the rising demand of khadi, the commission is considering setting up two new sliver plants. However, it will take some time as detail report is yet to be prepared.
KVIC is planning to provide sales platform to products made in prisons across the country. It is observed that these prisons made products attain high quality, as witnessed in the jails of Gurugram and Tihar, where rehabilitation efforts are in progress. As an extension of these ongoing efforts, they have decided to provide a sale platform in KVIC’s Khadi outlets.
The commission has set a sales target of about Rs 1,900-2,000 crore in the year 2016-17. Last year sales stood at Rs 1,510 crore. Going forward, the commission is aiming at sales worth Rs 5,000 crore in next two years.
Recognizing the importance of enhancing the wages of khadi artisans to ensure that khadi profession provides sustainable life support, the commission will increase the remuneration per hank (a coil or skein of yarn) from the existing Rs 5.50 to Rs 7 with effect from April 2017. This will increase the income of over 1.5 million khadi artisans across the country.
Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel
