Mumbai, 25 February 2025

 

Inspired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and with the aim of giving a new dimension to the ‘Naye Bharat ki Nayi Khadi’, a grand inauguration of the state level PMEGP (Prime Minister Employment Generation Program) exhibition was held on Sunday (February 23, 2025) at PWD Ground New Sanghvi, Pune. On this occasion, Shri Manoj kumar, Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises along with MLA Shri Shankar Bhau Jagtap were present on the occasion. More than 60 units of Khadi and Village Industries participated in this exhibition. This exhibition will continue till March 2, 2025.

During this inaugural programme, 674 equipment were distributed to 470 artisans after training them under the Gramodyog Vikas Yojana. This included 300 electric potter’s wheels which were distributed to 300 potters, 300 bee boxes and bee colonies to 30 beekeepers, waste wood craft toolkits to 40 artisans, 4 dona pattal making machines to 20 artisans, leather manufacturing machines to 10 artisans and electrician toolkits to 20 artisans from Pune, Jalgaon, Dhule, Nanded, Ahmednagar and Solapur districts under jurisdiction of State Office, KVIC Maharashtra. Earlier, on February 10, 584 machineries and toolkits were distributed to 314 artisans under Gramodyog Vikas Yojana in Bhandara district of Vidarbha in Maharashtra.

During the inauguration, Shri Shankar Jagtap, MLA, Chinchwad and Smt. Uma Girish Khapre, MLA, Pimpri Chinchwad appreciated the Khadi and Village Industries products. Both of them visited the stalls along with KVIC Chairman. They also appreciated the efforts of KVIC for providing necessary training to the rural artisans and also appreciated the efforts by KVIC to provide modern toolkits and machinery at their doorsteps and making benefits to them.

During the event, KVIC Chairman Shri Manoj Kumar said that the ‘Brand Shakti’ of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has led to a historic increase in the sales and production of Khadi. In his address, he highlighted the achievements of the last 10 years in the Khadi sector and said that during this period, the sales of Khadi and Village Industries products have increased five times, from Rs 31,000 crore to Rs 1,55,000 crore. There has been a six times increase in the sale of Khadi clothes from Rs 1,081 crore to Rs 6,496 crore, while 10.17 lakh new people have got employment in the last financial year. The KVIC Chairman said “Income of Khadi artisans has increased by 213% in the last 10 years. Today, Khadi is not just a cloth, but has become the identity of India.” Laying special emphasis on the participation of women in the field of Khadi, he said that more than 80% contribution in this sector is from mothers and sisters.

   

KVIC Chairman also stated that 3, 19,014 people are getting employment through 34 Khadi institutions, 38694 PMEGP units and 13 SFURTI clusters in Maharashtra. He informed that under the Gramodyog Vikas Yojana, 3280 electric wheel and 6800 bee boxes and bee colonies have been distributed in Maharashtra so far. He told that Khadi institutions and entrepreneurs from many states, including Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Karnataka, are participating in the state level PMEGP exhibition going on till March 2, 2025, in Pune.

   

All the products available in the exhibition are indigenous and eco-friendly. The Khadi fashion show rganized on the occasion showcased the excellent designs of Khadi with the aim of establishing Khadi on the global platform. Khadi and Village Industry products were presented through live demo at the exhibition, giving the visitors an opportunity to understand the process of their manufacturing.

Representatives of Khadi institutions, beneficiaries of Gramodyog Vikas Yojana, Khadi workers along with officers and employees of Maharashtra government and KVIC were present in the program.

 

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PIB Mumbai | SC/ DR

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