Indian khadi sector booms, KVIC hits $20 bn turnover in FY25

In the financial year 2023-24, there was an increase of 399.69 per cent in sales and 314.79 per cent in production in comparison to the year 2013-14, Manoj Kumar, chairman, KVIC said in a release.

Khadi, the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, is no longer just a fabric, but has become a symbol of the creation of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat', Manoj Kumar said while releasing the provisional data of Khadi and Village Industries for FY25 at the office located at Rajghat, New Delhi on Monday.

The performance of KVIC has made a significant contribution towards realising the resolution of 'Viksit Bharat' by the year 2047 and making India the third economy of the world, Kumar further added. He attributed this achievement to the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi, the guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the guidance of the Ministry of MSME and the hard work of crore of artisans.

Production of Khadi clothing has seen remarkable growth. From ₹811.08 crore (~$95.31 million) in 2013–14, it rose to ₹3,783.36 crore (~$444.39 million) in 2024–25—a 366 per cent increase. Sales of Khadi garments grew even more impressively, jumping from ₹1,081.04 crore (~$127.01 million) to ₹7,145.61 crore (~$839.57 million), reflecting a growth of 561 per cent, the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises said in a release.

There has also been a tremendous jump in the sales of Khadi clothes. While its sale was only ₹1081.04 crore in the financial year 2013-14, it increased by about six and a half times to ₹7145.61 crore in FY25 with an increase of 561 per cent. The promotion of Khadi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from a larger platform has had a huge impact on the sale of Khadi clothes.

That major objective of KVIC is to provide maximum employment opportunities in rural areas and it has set a record in this regard in the last 11 year, Kumar said speaking on objective of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). While the cumulative employment was 1.30 crore in the financial year 2013-14 (FY14), it rose to 1.94 crore in FY25 with an increase of 49.23 per cent. There has also been an unprecedented increase in the business of Khadi and Village Industries Bhawan, New Delhi.

While the business of Bhavan was ₹51.02 crore in FY14, it increased by almost 2 times and reached Rs 110.01 crore in FY25 with a jump of 115 per cent. Since the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) scheme, a total of 1018185 units have been established, for which the Government of India has distributed margin money subsidy of ₹27166.07 crore against a loan of ₹73348.39 crore. So far 90,04,541 people are getting employment through PMEGP.

With the aim of providing employment to maximum number of people in rural areas under the Gramodyog Vikas Yojana Scheme, KVIC has more than doubled the budget of Rs 25.65 crore in the financial year 2021-22 by 134 per cent to ₹60 crore in the financial year 2025-26 (FY26).

A total of 22284 machines and equipment were distributed in the year 2022-23, 29854 in the financial year 2023-24 and the highest 37218 machines and equipment in FY25. Under Gramodyog Vikas Yojana, KVIC has made a significant contribution in the creation of a self-reliant India by distributing a total of 287752 machines, toolkits and equipment so far.

Speaking on contribution towards women empowerment Kumar said that in the last 10 years, 7,43,904 trainees have been trained through 18 departmental and 17 non-departmental training centres of KVIC, out of which 57.45 per cent i.e. 4,27,394 are women. Apart from this, 80 per cent of the 5 lakh Khadi artisans are also women. In the last 11 years, the wages of Khadi artisans has been increased by 275 per cent while in the last three years, it has been increased by 100 per cent.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (HU)