The last five years under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has seen the widest acceptance of "brand Khadi" in India. While the production of Khadi, the most eco-friendly product of sustainable development, has more than doubled in the last five years, i.e. since 2015-16; the sale of khadi has gone up by nearly three times during the same period.

Similarly, the village industry (VI) sector has also seen a phenomenal growth with production and sale going up by nearly 100 % in the last five years.

Speaking about the KVIC's exemplary performance Union Minister of MSME and Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari has said,

"I complement Khadi and Village Industries of India on achieving impressive growth in since 2015-16 on a sustained basis. This sector does not just add to economic growth but also creates huge employment at the doorstep of villages. We aim and are working on taking this sector to much greater height in times to come under the leadership of our dynamic Prime Minister."

Looking at the performance in the last one year, the turnover of Khadi registered a growth of 31% from Rs. 3215.13 crore in 2018-19, to Rs. 4211.26 crore in 2019-20. The turnover of Village Industries products reached to Rs. 84,675.39 crore in 2019-20, registering a growth of over 19% from the previous year, i.e. 2018-19, which was at Rs. 71,077 crore.

The total Khadi and village industries turnover in the year 2019-20, has reached whopping Rs. 88,887 crore.

KVIC Chairman, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena attributed Khadi’s phenomenal growth to the sustained efforts of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, creative marketing ideas of Minister for MSME, Shri Nitin Gadkari and the active support from various ministries.

"As a result of government’s sustained efforts to revive the Khadi industry and the Prime Minister’s repeated appeals from various platforms including his radio address “Mann ki Baat”, to adopt Khadi as a necessity of daily life, the KVIC has been continuously going up the growth trajectory" Saxena said.

According to figures, the production of Khadi which was pegged at Rs. 1066 crore in 2015-16, shot up to Rs. 2292.44 crore in the year 2019-20, registering an increase of over 115 %. The sale of Khadi, on the other hand, stood even higher. The sale of Khadi fabric products increased by 179% from Rs 1510 crore in 2015 -16 to a whopping Rs. 4211.26 crore in 2019-20.

While the Village Industries (VI) products worth Rs. 33,425 crore were produced in 2015-16; production went up by 96 % to Rs. 65,393.40 crore in 2019-20. It also recorded an increase in sale of VI products by nearly 110% from Rs. 40,385 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 84,675.39 crore in 2019-20.

Besides the Khadi apparels, a wide range of village industry products like cosmetics, soaps & shampoos, Ayurvedic medicines, honey, oils, tea, pickles, Papads, hand sanitizers, confectionery, food items and leather items too has attracted a large number of consumers across the country and abroad. This resulted in increasing the production and sale of village industry products by nearly two times in five years.

Notably, KVIC has also made sustained strides to garner support from various state governments, PSUs like Air India, IOC, ONGC, REC and others, colleges, universities, Indian Railways and Ministry of Health among others. Further, in the village industry sector, KVIC boasts of over 150 products with in-house capacity of excellence in fields like bee-keeping, pottery and bakery.

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RCJ/SKP/IA