Gujarat khadi institutes to supply 200 solar charkhas

Govt has roped in 2 institutes to supply solar charkhas to MSMEs in India

Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gujarat-based two khadi institutes to supply solar-driven charkha under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). Gondal-based Udyog Bharti Trust and Rajkot-based Khadi Gram Udyog Sangh-Samanvay will provide solar charkhas to khadi institutions and artisans across India.

“We have signed MoU to provide solar-driven charkha to various khadi institutions to increase employment in this sector under PMEGP. Both Udyog Bharti and Samanvay will supply 100 solar charkha each by March-end," said Sanjay Hedaoo, director of KVIC Gujarat.

Under PMEGP, the government provides 25 per cent subsidy to male beneficiaries and 35 per cent to female beneficiaries.

Last week, Giriraj Singh, minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) had visited Udyog Bharti and seen test results of solar charkha. Impressed by their production and cost-efficiency, Singh asked KVIC to supply 100 solar charkhas from Udyog Bharti.

Chandrakant Patel, secretary of Udyog Bharti Trust, said, “The MSME minister had visited our campus and found that Udyog Bharti-made charkhas were producing more khadi at lesser cost than those developed by others. Hence, the minister asked us to supply the same through KVIC.”

The Udhyog Bharti Trust is initiating a trial run with 15 spinning wheels of 10-24 spindles that cost Rs 35,000-40,000 each. As of now, solar charkha with eight spindle produces 45,000 metres of khadi while production on hand-driven charkha with eight spindle is not more than 25,000 m.

Hand-driven ambar charkha of Udyog Bharti have been one of the most popular amongst khadi institutes and artisans in India.

Similarly, Rajkot-based Samanvay trust, which produces and sells khadi cloths in Gujarat, has signed an MoU with KVIC to provide 100 solar charkhas to their artisans and plans to invest about Rs 1.25 crore.

Ajay Doshi, director of Samanvay said, “We will buy normal charkhas and convert them into solar charkha with the help of Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialization (MGIRI) and distribute it to our artisans under PMEGP. We will spend about Rs 1.25 crore.”