Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has achieved a height which remains a distant goal for all FMCG companies in India. Thanks to the constant support of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, KVIC has, for the first time, clocked a massive turnover of Rs 1.15 lakh crore, which is unprecedented by any FMCG company in the country. This makes KVIC the only company in the country to have recorded a turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore.

In FY 2021-22, the overall turnover of KVIC stood at a whopping Rs 1,15,415.22 crore as compared to Rs Rs 95, 741.74 crore in the previous year, i.e. 2020-21. KVIC has thus registered a growth of 20.54% from the year 2020-21. Compared to the year 2014-15, the overall production in Khadi and Village Industry sectors in 2021-22 has registered a whopping growth of 172% while the gross sales during this period increased by over 248%. This massive turnover of KVIC has come despite partial lockdown in the country in the first 3 months, i.e. April to June in 2021, due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

Looking at the performance in the last one year, the biggest impact can be seen in the Khadi sector which has registered a growth of 43.20% from Rs 3528 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 5052 crore in 2021-22. In the last 8 years, i.e. from 2014-15, the production in the Khadi sector in 2021-22 has increased by 191%, while the Khadi sales have increased exponentially by 332%.

On the other hand, the turnover in the Village Industries sector alone has reached Rs 1,10,364 crores in 2021-22, as compared to Rs 92,214 crore in the previous year. In the last 8 years, the production in the Village Industry sector in 2021-22 has increased by 172%, while the sales have increased by 245%.

KVIC Chairman, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena attributed Khadi’s phenomenal growth to the constant support of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to promote Khadi in the country. At the same time, innovative schemes, creative marketing ideas and active support from various ministries have also added to the Khadi’s growth in recent years. "Prime Minister’s repeated appeals to achieve self-reliance by promoting “Swadeshi” and particularly “Khadi” has done wonders. Today Khadi stands far ahead of all FMCG companies in the country. By employing new scientific methods and diversifying Khadi’s product range, KVIC has succeeded in achieving such massive growth which no other FMCG company can match," he said.

Notably, people have responded enthusiastically to the Prime Minister’s calls of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” and “Vocal for Local”. In the last couple of years, KVIC’s main focus has been to create sustainable employment for artisans and unemployed youth. Faced with economic distress, a large number of youths took up self-employment and manufacturing activities under PMEGP which increased the production in the village industry sector. At the same time, the sales of Khadi and village industry products grew significantly following the Prime Minister’s appeal to buy Swadeshi products. This is also evident from the fact that Khadi’s single-day sale at its flagship store at Connaught Place in New Delhi also reached the all-time high of Rs 1.29 crore on 30th October 2021.

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MJPS