Centre okays Rs 15 crore for 48 new khadi clusters

The Centre has cleared 48 new industrial clusters in the country with an aim to making traditional businesses more productive and competitive. In the process, the government expects to generate more employment.

In a meeting with the CEO of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), JS Mishra, on Tuesday, the government approved an investment plan of Rs 15 crore for those clusters that would come up in the next three months. While 24 will be khadi clusters, the rest 24 will be gramudyog clusters.

Speaking to FE on the sidelines of a review meeting of four states, held under the bonus of the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), a Centre sector scheme, Mishra said, “We are planning to generate 56 lakh new employment opportunities in the khadi sector in the next five years, apart from eyeing to double our turnover to Rs 30,000 crore from last year’s Rs 15,000 crore.”

Wishing to make the cottage and hand spun sector a brand name and part of fashion’s glamour world, the KVIC is trying to engage as many as 500-700 artisans in each cluster and give them infrastructure support, technical support, marketing linkages as well as designing and packaging guidance. For this, the KVIC is engaging professional, corporate institutes like IIT, Teri, NIFT, NID, IICD and IED to make them highly competitive. Every cluster would get Rs 1 crore for this. While 85% would be Central grant, the rest would be given by the implementing agency.

Of the 48 new clusters approved by the Centre, six would be in Uttar Pradesh. While a woollen/cotton khadi cluster is coming up in the high-profile Gandhi constituency of Sultanpur, a chikan cluster is coming up in Lucknow, an amla cluster in Pratapgarh, a leather cluster in Kanpur, a perfume and agarbatti cluster in Kannauj and Bahraich will also have a khadi cluster.

According to state director of KVIC RS Pandey, the beneficiaries of the scheme would be local artisans, workers, raw material providers, entrepreneurs, institutional and private business development service providers, engaged in traditional industries and working in selected clusters of khadi, coir and village industries, including leather and pottery.

Admitting to the fact that massive campaigns and advertisements have to be done to promote the village industries, Mishra says he is planning to open khadi plazas all across the country, on the lines of food plazas and also organise fashion shows to make them brands to be associated with.